Twisted
by WildHeart22
Summary: Clarissa Morgenstern has been in a verbally-and occasionally physically-abusive relationship with her boyfriend, Sebastian Verlac, for over six months now. She's convinced that he is the way he is because he wants her to be better. As long as he loves her, it's alright. Right? But when the Lightwoods move into Clary's school, what happens when Jace is too smart to fall for the act?
1. Chapter 1

**This is a completely new type of story for me to write, so I hope I write it well!**

* * *

The dictionary defines abuse as 'the action of treating a person or an animal with cruelty or violence, especially regularly or repeatedly'. I'd never looked at myself and thought that I was being treated with cruelty or violence. I mean, I knew that it wasn't exactly right when Sebastian, my boyfriend of nearly seven months, would get a little too angry and grab me, but he never did any damage, never _hit _me. He just had a temper. I'd never thought _abuse_. But that was exactly what was going on.

If anything, I'd always thought that I was being _neglected_ by my parents. I understood why we didn't see them much, of course. And it was hard to complain when you lived in a house as nice as ours. See, my parents are the heads of the Morgenstern law firm. So naturally, they weren't home a lot. But like I said, we were better off for it. The only thing I regretted about it—other than not seeing my parents very often—is that I was left to live alone with my older brother, Jonathan, most of the time.

And Jonathan? He can't cook for his life. So the cooking was left to me the majority of the time. And my skills were limited to cooking things with explicit directions. So we ate a lot of those boxed mixes that come with the seasonings and things all put into it so I can just dump them in a pot.

I was in the middle of cooking one of the said boxes when I heard from my brother that a new family had moved into our school district. Now, most high schools have too many kids to really shake things up when there's a few new kids. But when your graduating class only consists of a hundred people, new kids are a big deal.

So when my brother came into the kitchen and announced that there were to be _three_ new kids, I almost spilled boiling water all over myself as I carried it across the room to drain the pasta.

I looked to Jon in shock, balancing the pot out again as my boyfriend of six months, Sebastian, rushed over to make sure the pot didn't spill all over me. "Jesus, Clare! You need to be more careful," he said, taking the pot from me and inspecting me for any burns.

I held my hands up in surrender, turning to face Jonathan who was smirking at Sebastian.

"Dude, Clary's clumsy. You will never be able to make her un-clumsy," he joked, winking at me. I rolled my eyes and grabbed the pot handles back from Seb. I stepped over to the sink and dumped the water and pasta into the strainer. I turned the cold water on and set the pot to the side, turning to look at Jon.

"We're seriously getting _three_ new kids?" I asked him. He grinned.

"Yeah. Maybe there'll be some hot guy for you with them," he teased. I sighed as Sebastian glared at me.

"She's got me, she doesn't need to be concerned about other guys," he said, just enough possessiveness in his tone to make Jon squint at his friend in confusion.

"I was just kidding, man," he said, looking to me with a raised brow. I just shrugged and turned back to dinner.

Jon and Sebastian had been best friends for years before we'd started dating. Originally, he'd been against it but soon warmed up to the idea that he could trust his best friend to take care of his sister better than anyone else.

Of course, the poor fool had to put up with the fact that when Seb and I fought, he was stuck in the middle. We didn't fight often, thankfully, so he wasn't usually in that position.

Of course, they seemed to be absolute opposites. Sebastian has short black hair and Jon's hair is white. And where Seb's eyes are dark, almost black, Jon's are a light green like mine.

When I finally put the pot on the table, the three plates for us already in place, Jonathan ruffled my hair affectionately and Seb kissed my cheek before we all sat down.

"So where did the new kids move into?" I asked Jon. He had a ton of friends that he texted non-stop so I wasn't surprised when he pretty much knew everything about them already.

"One of the really nice, big houses that we always go by on our way to school," he answered. "Apparently, they're loaded." I scoffed.

"Of course they are."

"Hey, rich guys," Jon said, winking. "They could get you further than this chump," he said, punching Sebastian's shoulder. I chuckled and regretted it when Seb shot me a sharp look. I quickly looked away from them, shoveling some of the cheesy pasta into my mouth.

I didn't understand why he was o sensitive about stuff like that. He knew that Jon and I both loved him. It's not like I'd just dump him for some snobby rich guy.

"They're probably all going to be girls anyway," Jon said after a minute, checking his cell for messages. "Scott texted and said that they were moving a lot of girly furniture into the house."

Sebastian visibly relaxed and I did too. That meant that I didn't have to worry about Sebastian being rude if I so much as talked to them. And chances are, I would. With such a small school, I was pretty much guaranteed to meet them at some point.

"Maybe Maia and you can get a new girlfriend," Sebastian suggested, smiling at me. I smiled back.

"Maybe. It'd be nice," I said wistfully. Maia and I were pretty close, but it was just us usually. Her boyfriend, like mine and my brother, were a grade ahead of us so we didn't really get to hang out with them during school. Well, except for my art class that I'd convince Sebastian to join so we could see each other more during the day and gym that we'd all managed to have together. But Maia wasn't in that class so it was pretty lonely when the coaches split the girls and guys.

When we were finished with our food, I gathered the plate sand took them to the sink. Jon and Sebastian kept me company while I did dishes, but of course neither helped. _Boys_, I thought irritably.

When I was done, the boys and I migrated to the living room where Jon and Seb began to argue about what movie to watch. I lay out along the couch and waited for them to decide. Finally, they resorted to rick, paper, scissors. I rolled my eyes as Jon cheered childishly, stuck his tongue out at my boyfriend and put Thor in. I knew most of the reason he'd argued so hard to watch it was because he knew it was one of my favorite movies.

When both boys had settled down, I rest my head in Sebastian's lap and my feet in my brother's. Sebastian smiled at me and leaned down to press a soft kiss to my lips. I laughed when Jon began to make gagging noises.

"You know the rules about PDA with my sister while I'm in the room," he said, giving Sebastian a firm look. Sebastian looked at him innocently.

"Would you prefer if we went to another room?" Jon glared at him while I chuckled and slapped his chest.

"Oh, leave him alone, Seb," I said, grabbing his hand.

He smiled at me and turned to Jon. "I apologize, Jon," he said cheekily. "I hope you can ever forgive me." Jon scoffed but I could see the smile fighting its way onto his lips.

"Maybe if you'd stop making comments like that about my sister," he said, forcing a smile away.

"Oh, lighten up, Jon," I said and sat up to put my fingers on both sides of his mouth, forcing the corners up into a disturbing smile. He pulled away but started to laugh.

"Okay, okay," Jon said, shaking his head with a smile.

I smiled and rested my head back in Sebastian's lap. Jon had rested his hands on my ankles and Seb was running his fingers through my hair when I drifted off, unable to stay awake despite one of my favorite movies being played.

I was shaken awake a little while later and opened my eyes to see the credits rolling on the TV. I blinked up at Seb sleepily.

"What time is it?" He peered at the cable box for a second.

"Eleven thirty." I yawned, and sat up. Jon was no longer sitting at the end of the couch where he'd been when I fell asleep.

I was about to ask if he'd gone to bed when he walked out of the kitchen with a glass of water and a bottle of pills. He tossed the pills to me and in my sleepy state—although let's face it, I probably wouldn't have caught it anyway—I missed them and they landed on my chest instead.

I groaned, picking the bottle up and taking the glass from him.

I'd been taking two pills every morning and night since I was twelve to prevent the migraines that seemed to pop up out of nowhere every now and then. The headaches had been really bad for a long time until my doctor finally got me on some preventative medicine that limited them to maybe once every two months, depending on my level of stress.

When I'd taken my medicine, I looked at Sebastian hopefully.

"Are you spending the night?" He looked to my brother for permission. Since Jon was the oldest, he was the one to set most of the rules when our parents were away and that included rules between Sebastian and I.

Jon looked between us with narrowed eyes. "Only if he stays in my room or the living room," he said, his usual response. "He is _not_ sleeping in your room. God knows you're probably having sex anyway, but I can have a clear conscience knowing it didn't happen on my watch. "

I felt my cheeks immediately flame up while Sebastian laughed. Jon smirked at me.

"C'mon, Sis. We've got school tomorrow." He held out a hand for me and I took it, pressing a quick kiss to Sebastian's cheek before using Jon to stand up. I saw Sebastian grab a blanket off the back of the couch before I turned and followed Jon up the stairs. I said goodnight to Jon and changed into a pair of pajama shorts and a tank top before washing my face and slipping into bed. I set my alarm for six thirty in the morning, like usual.

I fell asleep quickly, thinking about an art project that was due soon.

I woke up to my alarm screeching at me. I reached over and fumbled with my phone until I managed to shut the stupid alarm off.

"I need to change that alarm," I muttered, just as I did every morning. I had set it as the most annoying one in my phone's selection to ensure that I woke up every morning. But that didn't mean I had to like it.

I slid out of bed reluctantly and walked over to the bathroom connected to my room. Usually I took a shower before I went to bed, but I'd been too tired last night so I would have to take one this morning.

I showered quickly and wrapped a towel around myself before stepping back into my room. Thankfully, it was a warm day so my room wasn't too cold. I stepped carefully over pencils and clothes scattered on the floor to get to my dresser. I shuffled through my shorts, sure to keep my towel tight around me in case my brother decided to check and make sure I was up. He usually didn't get up until around ten minutes after me, so he wouldn't have heard the shower.

It took me only a few minutes to pick out an outfit suitable for the weather. After getting dressed, I ran a brush through my wild curls. I ran a towel through my hair one last time before grabbing my bag, gathering up my sketching pencils from their scattered positions around my room, and heading down the stairs.

I was greeted by Sebastian, who was already drinking his coffee. I paced over to the machine, my shoes slapping against the tiles. I poured myself a cup and dumped an excessive amount of sugar in. Sebastian made a noise similar to a scoff and I looked at him with raised brows.

"Problem?" I asked. He frowned, shrugging and looking away. My smile dropped and I walked over to sit across from him, setting my cup down and grabbing his free hand worriedly. "What is it?" I asked.

He sighed, meeting my eyes again. "Shouldn't you take it a little easy on the sugar? You know it's not good for you."

My head tipped to the side a little in confusion and I looked down at my cup. "I guess…" I muttered, not fully convinced. He'd been helping me eat healthier a lot more lately, but I'd figured sugar in my coffee was fine. He squeezed my hand and smiled at me lovingly.

"It's just that I've seen the way you compare yourself to other girls and I don't want you to have to look at yourself that way." Seeing his reason, I nodded and stood up to dump the coffee, getting a fresh cup and skipping on the sugar that I usually drank.

I didn't particularly care for the bitterness of coffee, which was why I usually drowned it in sugar. But Sebastian was right that I should be eating healthier, so I'd have to put up with the taste. Soon after I'd started to sip the coffee, Jon walked into the room and smiled at us both.

"Morning," I greeted. He grunted in response. My brother isn't exactly a morning person.

Seb rolled his eyes at Jon's characteristic behavior. After we'd all had a cup of coffee, we headed out to Jon's car. I slid in the back, Sebastian taking the passenger seat like normal. Halfway through the ride to school, I suddenly remember Jon's news from last night.

"Hey, are the new kids going to be in school today?" I asked, poking him in the shoulder.

He shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't got any more texts about them. Guess they haven't really shown their faces much since they moved their stuff in last night." I huffed and sat back against my seat, unhappy with the lack of answers.

I wasn't going to pretend to be immune to the curiosity and excitement that was sure to be buzzing around school today, keeping kids awake in classes for once and keeping the teachers infuriated with our talking during lessons.

I was curious to meet the new girls. Jon said that by the amount of girls' clothing they'd moved into the house (which he learned of from one of his nosy friends) the kids were sure to be all girls. Maybe Maia and I could befriend them. Of course, Jon was hoping to 'befriend' the girls as well.

When we pulled up to the school, I could already see the students rushing around, whispering to their friends and looking around excitedly. "Your sources have failed you, Jon," Sebastian said suddenly, as soon as we stepped onto the front lawn of the school, hand in hand.

I followed his gaze curiously and my jaw dropped, lips parting in surprise. Standing amidst the familiar students that I'd grown up with since pre-K, were two guys who seemed as though they'd fit in better in an Abercrombie ad than standing in front of our little school and a girl who wouldn't be out of place on the runway stood beside them.

Jon had been wrong.

"Three girls my ass," Sebastian growled, his hand tightening on mine until it felt as though he was snapping my bones. I winced, trying to pull my hand out of his grip as he looked at me angrily. He began to tug on my hand and I followed quickly, hoping that he would let up on his grip if I did. "I'm going to walk Clary to class," he called over his shoulder to Jon.

My brother didn't even acknowledge our absence as he met up with one of his other friends, both of them staring unabashedly at the dark haired girl.

Sebastian's grip didn't loosen until we were standing by my locker. I noticed uneasily that there was nobody else around. He let go of my hand, nearly flinging it back at me as he spun to face me beside my locker.

"I don't want you talking to them," he growled out, his eyes hard and his hands fisted at his sides. I frowned.

"Why?" I asked, my voice weak even to my own ears. Sebastian's scowl became even darker.

"Why?" He let out a sharp bark of unamused laughter. "Because I fucking saw the way you were looking at them!"

I shrunk back slightly, looking around nervously to make sure nobody was around to hear his shouting. Thankfully, my locker was in a fairly secluded hallway and everybody was too busy ogling the new kids to worry about getting their homework done before their first period class started.

"I-I was just surprised," I said quietly. That seemed to make him angrier and he reached forward to grab my wrist, tugging me closer to him.

"Surprised?" he hissed. "Bullshit. That wasn't surprised. That was checking them out." I ducked my head to look at my shoes.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I just wasn't expecting it."

Sebastian flung my arm back at me again.

"If I see you so much as looking at them again, you'll regret it." And he stormed away, leaving me staring after him in shock. After blinking away the tears threatening to fall, I looked down at my hand with a grimace and tightened my fingers into a painful fist before releasing it again.

My hand was red and aching from his grip and my wrist was scarlet enough to match my hair, already beginning to bruise.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed it :) Please review to let me know if you liked it! And don't be afraid to send some constructive criticism, it helps make the story a lot better!**

**-Cassidy **


	2. Chapter 2

**Holy crap, guys. I am so happy. Like you can't even imagine how happy I am! Never before have I gotten such a great response on one of my stories! EIGHTEEN REVIEWS! You guys are freaking amazing! Every time I saw another review pop up, my heart just exploded! So thank you for being the awesome people you are!**

**Here's a shout-out to elizabethbane, who got my butt up and writing at SEVEN IN THE MORNING after I saw her review because it made me THAT happy :D Which is odd, considering death threats don't usually make people happy but this one did! So thank you!**

* * *

When I heard the warning bell ring, I hastily swiped at the corners of my eyes to make sure no tears fell. I turned to my locker and put the combination in quickly, ignoring the ache in my hand and wrist as I spun the dial. The door swung open with a creak as the first few students began to round the corner.

I turned back to my locker when I realized that the group heading towards me was going to get me in trouble. My friend Magnus, a fairly eccentric senior, was leading the three new kids over to me, gesturing wildly as he spoke to them about something. I ducked my head and grabbed my English folder and Spanish binder. I slammed the door as more students flooded the hallway and quickly spun away towards my English class, hoping Magnus would leave when he saw I was already on my way to class.

"Clary!" I cursed under my breath. I should've known that Magnus was too stubborn to quit just because I'd turned my back. I turned back around slowly, my eyes flickering around nervously. Would anybody in this hall so far talk to Sebastian if they saw me talking to the new kids?

Magnus sped up so I didn't have to wait long and the two boys and girl followed more slowly. I refused to let myself look at the boys, so I examined the girl. She was tall and thin with curves to die for. She had a slightly tanner complexion than me and her hair was ink black and went halfway down her back with only the slightest wave to it. I was immediately jealous of her appearance, although I knew the green eyes my brother and I shared were slightly more interesting than her dark ones.

She'd clearly dressed up for the first day. She was wearing a pretty blue sundress with silver heels and a simple necklace with a red stone. It didn't seem to go with her outfit, but it did seem to go with her.

She smiled politely as the new students caught up with Magnus, who stood in front of me, beaming.

"This is Clary, a close friend of mine," Magnus said, gesturing to me. I waved a little, unsure how to respond. I kept my eyes between the girl and Magnus but encompassed the other boys in my greeting. I didn't want to be rude, whether that was what Sebastian wanted or not. "And Clary, this is Isabelle, Jace and Alec," he finished introducing.

I allowed myself the quickest glance at the two, seeing simply that Jace was blonde and Alec was black haired. Magnus gave me an odd look as I kept my eyes off the two. I shrugged at him a little and he scowled. _What the hell?_ He mouthed at me. I sighed.

Whether I looked at them again or not, Sebastian would still throw a fit that I was within less than a hundred yards of them. When I finally looked at them, I was hit once again by how attractive this whole family seemed to be. Alec was looking at Magnus as he explained that he wanted to see my schedule to see if they were in any of my classes.

He had the brightest blue eyes I'd ever seen and his dark hair was shaggy and seemed in need of a haircut. He was taller than the boy next to him by a few inches but seemed smaller because of the way he held himself. And oh boy, if I thought he was attractive, the boy next to him—his brother?—was even more so.

Jace had tawny-blonde hair and matching golden eyes. They looked around confidently and his posture was much better than Alec's. As a girl with an artist's mind, I couldn't help but take in all the angles and planes of his face. His features were fairly sharp, but not gaunt. His cheekbones were attractively high and his lips were turned up in a slight smirk.

Taking him in as a whole again, I could see the overconfident way he stood, his relaxation even in a clearly unknown place with people he didn't knew. I drew my eyes back towards Magnus as he stopped talking and held his hand out, palm up. At first I thought he wanted a high-five, and then I remembered he'd been asking for my schedule to compare to theirs. I shuffled through my bag for a minute before handing it to him silently. He skimmed it over quickly before asking the girl for hers—Isabelle.

He compared them for a minute, in which we all stood around quietly while students flowed around us.

"Oh good," he said finally, after seeing the other two schedules. "You have first period with Isabelle." So Isabell must be in my grade. "And second period with Jace." I nodded, realizing that if Jace was in the same Spanish class that he was in my grade as well only seconds before realizing that Sebastian was going to freak if I was late to English because I was talking with the new kids.

I looked to Isabelle with a smile.

"Do you want to walk to English with me?" I asked. She grinned and nodded.

"That'd be great. I have the sense of direction of a broken compass." I smiled.

"I do too, don't worry." I gestured in the direction we had to head and waved goodbye to the three boys before leading her down the hallway. For the first couple seconds, we didn't talk much.

"So, Mrs. Blackthorn seems really mean and all," I started when we neared the room. "But as long as you do your work well, she won't bother you." The girl beside me bit her lip and nodded.

"I suck at English, though. I just-ugh. Me and essays aren't exactly great friends. And I never understand the books we read." I smiled at her reassuringly.

"I'm sure you'll be fine. And if not, Mrs. Blackthorn would _love_ you if you asked for extra help. She's so easy to get on your good side." She smiled and nodded.

"So how did you meet Magnus?" I asked as we took our seats. I usually sat in the middle of the room and she slid into the one to my right.

She looked a little confused. "Um, I'm not really sure actually. He was just suddenly there. He offered to show us to our first period classes and we didn't say no." I chuckled.

"Yeah, that's Magnus. He's a dork, but he's awesome. He'd do anything for the people he cares about," I said honestly. "I got in a huge fight with my brother once and took off. I went to Magnus' house and he didn't even hesitate to let me spend the night."

Isabelle looked impressed. "Wow. He sounds amazing. I don't know a lot of people who would be willing to do that," she said. I nodded.

"I know right." Her dark eyes were honed in on me suddenly when I grinned and I raised my brows at her.

"You know," she finally said. "You seem a lot different now than you were a few minutes ago. You're less shy." She leaned towards me conspiratorially. "Is it because my brothers are hot? I mean, everyone seems to get tongue-tied around them, but trust me they're kind of assholes. Nothing to get nervous about. You wouldn't even want to get involved with them."

I laughed at her eye roll. Typical siblings.

"Oh no, you have nothing to worry about there. I have a boyfriend already." She smiled brightly.

"Really? I have to meet him!" I nodded enthusiastically.

"Oh, he's amazing. I'm sure you'll meet him at some point. He has gym and art with me. Sometimes he and my brother stop in at my lunch too," I told her. So far, I really liked Isabelle. She seemed nice and she was easy to talk to.

So maybe there hadn't been three girls like we'd expected, but that didn't mean that I still couldn't make a new friend. When the teacher walked in, only seconds before the late bell rang, the students turned to face her, their whispering momentarily cut off before they turned to their friends and began to again. I was about to turn back to talk to Isabelle when it seemed that the class wasn't getting under control, but there was utter silence when Mrs. Blackthorn threatened to give us a pop quiz on the book we'd been reading if we didn't quiet down.

The lesson seemed shorter than usual, and before I knew it, the bell had rung. I stood up and gathered my things. I lead Isabell from the room and paused by the doorway.

"What class do you have next?" I asked her. She handed me her schedule and I saw that she had science.

"Science with Fairchild," I said. "I know where that is. Do you want me to walk you there?" She smiled in relief.

"That'd be great."

"So who's your brother?" she asked as I led her through the halls.

"Jonathan Morgenstern. He's a grade ahead of us, so he probably won't be in too many of your classes."

When we reached the door to her classroom, I wished her good luck and said goodbye.

I turned to head to my second period class just as the late bell rang. I sighed, hoping my teacher would accept my excuse of helping the new student. Halfway there, I heard footsteps behind me. Wondering if I knew who else was late, I turned to see who it was.

_Of course_, I sighed to myself. "Jace?" I called, halting. He looked up at me from where he'd been eyeing the room numbers as he passed by them. He raised a brow at me and I smiled politely.

"Do you need help finding your class? Magnus said we have the same class this period." He shot me an award-winning smile.

"That'd probably be best. Otherwise I'd be wandering around for probably another ten minutes." I smiled and gestured for him to walk with me. I knew Sebastian would flip if he knew I was walking Jace to class, but I wasn't going to make him later than he was. And besides, helping Jace would be a better excuse to the teacher than if I'd said I was helping Isabelle because with Jace, I had proof.

"So, you're a junior like Isabelle?" I asked conversationally as we made our way down the almost empty halls.

He nodded, his hands in his pockets. I wondered why he hadn't brought something with him to class. Even on his first day, you'd think he'd have brought a notebook and pencil or something.

"Yep. My brother, Alec, is a senior though." I nodded as well.

"So is my brother, Jon. Maybe they'll get along," I said with a short smile.

He chuckled quietly. "I doubt it. Alec doesn't really 'get along' with people. He's too shy."

I made a sound of agreement. Jon was the opposite of shy. They probably wouldn't get along. I gestured to the Spanish door before pushing it open and stepping in. All conversation abruptly ended and heads snapped towards us. I smiled sheepishly at the teacher.

I walked up to where he sat at his desk, gesturing for Jace to follow me. I heard whispers follow us around the room and wished silently that this wouldn't spread to Sebastian.

"Excuse, Clarissa?"

"I was walking Jace's sister to class and then ran into Jace and walked him to class too," I said quickly, glad he hadn't made me say it in Spanish. No way did I know how to say that.

Mr. Whitelaw looked suspicious, but nodded and waved us off without so much as a 'welcome' to Jace.

I rolled my eyes and walked away to take my seat. I paused halfway there, seeing that my table was suddenly empty. Usually, a girl named Aline sat next to me. The tables fit two people, so we sat next to each other every day, even though there were no assigned seats. And I had seen Aline sitting there when I walked in. But now, she was nowhere to be seen. Upon a closer look around the room, I saw that Aline was now sitting across the room next to a girl I'd never seen her talk to before. She shot me a wink and tipped her head towards Jace. I rolled my eyes at her and saw her laugh.

She knew I was dating Sebastian. Everybody knew I was dating Sebastian. But for whatever reason, Aline had never liked her cousin and she was constantly trying to set me up with other people. And she'd clearly seen me walk in with Jace.

I sighed deeply and sat down, Jace taking the only other open seat—next to me.

I didn't look to him, just bending at the waist to drop my binder to the floor, grabbing a pen from my bag as Mr. Whitelaw handed out a worksheet for us to work on for the rest of the period. It was on adapting sentences into the RID form. The RID function was probably the hardest thing for me to grasp. Let it be known that I _suck_ at learning languages. So this class—yeah not one of my best.

The first question had me stumped immediately. I groaned, shoving a hand through my hair in frustration as I tried to remember what I was supposed to do with the indirect object.

I finally took a wild guess and scratched it irritably onto the line before moving on to the next one. I heard a soft chuckle to my right and looked up at Jace challengingly. "What?" I asked in an irritated whisper. He pointed with the eraser of his pencil towards my paper.

"You just said 'the cat eats it is it' instead of 'the cat eats it'." I scowled at him, noticing that he was already finished with his paper.

I scribbled out my answer and glared down at the paper. "Thanks," I uttered to Jace, looking at the clock and dropping my pen in defeat when I saw we only had five minutes left. I still had no idea how to form the sentence and no idea how to form the next ones. Jace had just begun to reach towards my paper when the bell rang, although I wasn't sure whether he was going to help or pick more fun at my fairly obvious mistakes.

I went to the front of the room to hand my paper in before leaving, and the teacher looked at me in disappointment.

"I expected more effort from you, Clarissa." I sighed, not bothering to tell him that I _had_ tried. He wouldn't believe me anyway. If I'd been handed my work, I wouldn't think I'd tried either.

I exited the room without saying anything to him, more than ready to head to my next class. On my way out, I ran into Magnus.

"Hey," I greeted as I stopped to talk to him. He returned the greeting, frowning over my shoulder.

"Why didn't you offer to show Jace to his next class?" I frowned at him.

"Because I'm not his baby-sitter?" I saw Magnus wave somebody over and gave him an irritated look. He scowled back.

"Why are you being so rude to the Lightwoods?" I rolled my eyes.

"I'm not being rude, Magnus. I literally just walked Jace to Spanish. And besides that, I took Isabelle to her first _two_ classes. Why are you trying to shove them all on me?" I snapped. He frowned and gave me a sharp look as I heard footsteps approaching. I turned to see Jace looking between us with raised brows and a smirk on his lips.

"Lovers' spat?" he asked in amusement. I scoffed while Magnus began to laugh.

"Oh please. I totally don't play for that team," Magnus said, gesturing to me. I rolled my eyes, although I was smiling a little too. I looked at a fairly unsurprised looking Jace.

"No, we're not together. He's gay and I've got a boyfriend," I stated. Now, he looked surprised.

"You've got a boyfriend? Isabelle didn't tell me that." My brows furrowed as I turned to look at him completely.

"Isabelle just met me first period," I said suspiciously. "What do you mean, she didn't tell you?" He shrugged.

"She's been texting me about everyone she meets all day. You, and some boy named Simon are apparently 'super nice'." I chuckled slightly while Magnus rolled his eyes.

"Clary and Simon are good friends. Or they used to be, at least," Magnus said, sounding a little unsure.

I frowned. Magnus was right; Simon and I had been the best of friends since I was little. I didn't like that Simon and I had grown apart, but he had continuously started arguments and fights with Sebastian after I started dating him so I'd invited him over less and less until finally we just didn't really talk anymore. I wished that the two had gotten along a little better, so I could hang out with them both but I guess it wasn't to be.

Jace looked to me to see my reaction to Magnus' words, and his eyes filled with understanding. What exactly he was understanding, I wasn't sure.

"Clary!" I spun on my heel so fast to face the voice that my hair blinded me for a moment. I shoved it away and my stomach seemed to drop when I saw Sebastian heading towards us.

My next class was art. And Sebastian was in my art class. And he always walked with me from Spanish to art. How could I have forgotten? I saw his dark eyes flicker around our assembled group and his fists clenched at his sides slightly as he realized I was standing within a foot of Jace. I stepped towards him quickly, hoping that he wouldn't make a scene.

I met him halfway and he immediately wrapped his arms around my waist. His arms were tight and I instantly felt guilty that I'd given him something to worry about. All he'd asked was that I stay away from Jace and Alec, and I couldn't even manage that. When he released me, I looked up at him apologetically.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly. "Magnus introduced them to me and wanted me to show them to their class and—"

"You're saying that you couldn't have just said no? You couldn't have just let him find his own way to class?" I ducked my head a little.

"We were going to the same class, I didn't see why not to—"

"How about that fact that you're _my _girlfriend, not his? And you're in the _same class_ as the bastard?"

I nodded, resting my hands on his chest to try and sooth him. I could feel how tense he was as he took a deep breath, his eyes burning in fury as he looked down at me. He leaned down and buried his face in my hair, as though to whisper something sweet to me.

"I told you that you would regret it if you talked to them." Then he pulled back and grabbed my hand, the one that I'd been using as little as possible today, and started to lead me towards the small group.

I didn't say anything to deter his approach, although I was terrified to see what he was going to do. Was he going to hit Jace? Was he going to start a fight with him?

I smiled at Magnus, who greeted Sebastian happily with a fist bump.

Sebastian looked to Jace and offered him a hand to shake. "You must be Jace. I'm Sebastian, Clary's boyfriend." Jace shook his hand with raised brows.

"Hey," he responded, looking to me where I stood beside him. I gave him a warning look as he opened his mouth to say something to me and I saw Sebastian follow his look. I smiled up at him and squeezed his hand gently, ignoring how it made my hand throb slightly. He smiled back and put an arm around my shoulder, pulling me into his side.

"Hope she didn't bother you too much last period. She's pretty damn awful at Spanish," he said with a chuckle. My cheeks heated up slightly and I saw Magnus slipping away from the corner of my eye.

Jace smiled a little tightly. "Yeah, I noticed that too. But then again, it's hard to learn a language. My dad had me learning different languages since I was little, so I'm pretty good at them but most people have a lot of trouble learning."

Sebastian shrugged then looked at me. "We should get to art, babe," he said.

I nodded and allowed him to guide me away from Jace, who said a quick goodbye to us.

Sebastian had a tight grip on my shoulder as we walked silently towards our class. I could tell that he was upset with me and it upset me to know that I'd managed to anger him so easily.

We walked into our art class only seconds before the bell rang again and we took our seats next to each other. As we started to work on our watercolor paintings, I continued to feel the tension wafting off of Sebastian. Needing to reassure him, I leaned towards him and pressed a kiss to his cheek, setting my brush down safely away from my painting.

He turned to me with a sigh and for a second, he didn't smile. After a second or so, he finally smiled and kissed me on the lips briefly. Relief flooded through me when I realized that he wasn't mad at me anymore. "I love you," he said, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear. I smiled brightly at him.

"I love you too," I responded naturally. I heard gagging sounds from behind us and turned in my chair to see Aline was sitting behind us, pretending to vomit.

"You too are so sweet it's _awful_," she said with an eye roll. I laughed a little before turning back to my painting, leaving the cousins to their bickering.

I gazed at the piece in front of me, blocking out the arguing between Sebastian and Aline. It was a painting of a lake with snow and frost piled on the edges. It was almost finished. All I had to do now were the snow piles on the tree limbs surrounding the lake.

I felt Sebastian lean against my arm as he looked at my painting. "It looks really…pale. I feel like it needs more color," he commented, looking at the painting skeptically. I frowned a little. I'd planned the colors carefully to be done in pale blues and whites and silvers for a reason. It gave it a more wintery feel.

Looking at it with a more critical eye, I could see where he would think it needed more color. Who wants to look at a boring, pale, dead landscape?

I was about to go get a new set of paints, a darker blue and some greens, when the teacher called to us that it was time to clean up.

Nothing much happened for the rest of the day until lunch. I had no more classes with the Lightwoods or Sebastian, so it was fairly calm and boring. I walked into lunch to see that, sitting with Maia and Magnus, was Isabelle Lightwood and her brother, Alec.

I sighed. I guess I would be eating outside today. Usually I sat with Maia and Magnus, but no way would I risk upsetting Sebastian again. I went through the lunch line quickly, just grabbing an apple and a water bottle. I headed out the cafeteria doors that led to the courtyard and sat down at one of the outdoor tables. It was a nice day out, so I really didn't mind being outside, but it was kind of lonely. There were only a few other kids outside and I waved to them as I bit into my apple. I pulled my sketchbook from my bag, figuring it'd be a good time to draw.

I grabbed a pencil from a side pocket and began to draw light lines across the page, creating the setup for a male's face. I made a strong jawline and a slightly broad forehead before beginning to set a pair of eyes into the face. I made them a little narrowed, just like Sebastian's were, and rounded the bottom of them to show a kinder look. His cheekbones were sharp and I turned his lips up in a kind smile. I was just starting on the hair when I felt a set of arms wrap around my shoulders.

Startled, I dropped my pencil as the person chuckled. I turned my head and a pair of lips covered my own. I smiled as Sebastian pulled away and sat down beside me.

"Hey," I said as he reached for my hand.

"Hey yourself," he said, looking down at my drawing with a smile. "Now that is an attractive man."

I laughed. "Should I be worried about you leaving me for him?" He smirked.

"I hadn't thought about it, but isn't that an idea?" I laughed again, slapping his shoulder.

"I'll let Magnus know that you're playing for his team now," I said with a grin. He promptly shook his head.

"Uh-uh. I've been thinking a lot over these past three seconds, and I could never leave you." I grinned and nodded.

"Well that's good to hear," I said, pecking him on the cheek. "Did Jon come with you?" Typically when one boy came to visit at lunch, sneaking away from their math class, the other tagged along. This time though, he shook his head.

"Nope. He got in trouble with Mrs. Pangborn. She has him working in the seat in front of her desk. She may be blind, but she's not that blind." I chuckled.

"What did he do?"

Sebastian then launched into the tale of how my brother had answered a question wrong, and then promptly told the teacher to fuck off when she called him an idiot.

When he was finished, I wasn't even a little surprised. Jon didn't take kindly to people calling him names, especially anything insulting his intelligence.

"So how much trouble exactly is he in?" I asked, a little concerned that he'd managed to get himself suspended again. Sebastian waved my concern off.

"Oh, he's fine. You know the teachers love him." I sighed in a mixture of relief and irritation. Every teacher loved Jon and I would never understand why. The boy was a menace.

We stood up quickly when the bell rang and Sebastian gathered up my sketchbook while I went to toss my half-eaten apple in the bin a few feet away. We had gym next, so I got to walk with Sebastian to get there, which I was always pleased about.

He handed me my sketchbook as we stepped back into the emptying cafeteria and I stuffed it into my bag before taking his hand.

"So how mad was Jon when you abandoned him?" I asked cheekily. Sebastian smirked at me.

"Well, he wasn't exactly pleased when he saw me sneak out. Flipped me off and everything."

"Of course he did," I chuckled. Sebastian leaned down to place a kiss to the top of my head when we stepped into the gym before letting go of my hand and stepping into the guys' locker room.

I sighed contentedly before stepping into the girls' locker room. I headed over to my locker and started to turn the dial when I heard my name being called. I turned around in confusion before I saw Isabelle heading towards me, a small gym bag in her hand.

"Hey," I said happily. If Isabelle was in my gym class and we became good friends then that would mean I would have somebody to partner up with when they split the genders.

"Hey!" she responded, seeming to be even more excited than I was. "Thank god there's somebody I know in here. Can I keep my stuff in your locker until the teacher gives me one? She said that she doesn't know where the keys are right now," the girl explained with an eye roll. I laughed.

"Well what do you expect when you move into a school that _never_ has new students?" I pulled my locker open and took the things I needed out before gesturing for her to put her stuff in.

I got changed quickly out of my jean shorts and into my gym shorts and switched my tank top out for the one I used in gym. When Isabelle and I headed out of the changing rooms, I noticed that we were matching. We both wore black shorts and a pink top, although hers was a tee-shirt and not a tank top.

We were laughing about it when I spotted Sebastian and Jon standing by the bleachers, talking about something. Jon looked irritated about whatever it was, while Sebastian looked amused. When he saw me, he waved a hand towards himself to get me to go over to him. I looked to Isabelle with a smile.

"That's my boyfriend, Sebastian," I explained as I headed over with her by my side. "And my brother is beside him." When we reached the two, I noticed that Jon was staring at Isabelle's legs like they were the only thing in the room. I rolled my eyes at him and he looked at me sharply.

"We need to talk later," he told me. I raised my brows at him, but shrugged.

"Okay. Well, this is Isabelle," I introduced. "And Isabelle, this is my boyfriend, Sebastian, and my brother, Jonathan." Jon grinned at her.

"Did Clary already kidnap you to be her gym partner?" Isabelle smiled.

"I think it was kind of a mutual kidnapping," she joked. Sebastian reached for me so I stepped into his arms, leaning my back against his chest. He rested him chin on my head and Isabelle beamed.

"You two are so cute together!" she squealed. I felt my cheeks flush as almost everyone who had come into the gym already turned to look at us.

Sebastian just chuckled and held me tighter.

The rest of the school day went smoothly. The car ride home went as it usually did with my brother, Sebastian, and I all joking around.

It was once we got home that things started to go badly.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed it :) I know it's pretty long and full of kinda boring stuff, but it'll all be important later, I promise! The little stuff will start to add up soon. **

**Don't forget to clicky the little review button if you like it. You never know, your comment may get me up at ungodly hours in the morning to write!**

**-Cassidy (I would put a heart here but last time I tried, only the three showed up and not the little less-than symbol thingy :( So just imagine the heart)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's the third chapter! Thank you for the overwhelmingly great responses! I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! 3**

* * *

_This is all so new,_

_Seems too good to be true,_

_Could this really be a safe place to fall?_

* * *

As soon as we stepped into the house, Jon turned to me, slamming the door shut behind him. I jumped, stepping back suddenly. Sebastian looked at my brother in surprise, his arm going to my waist.

"What—"

"Why didn't you tell me you were friends with Isabelle?" Jon cried, his eyes wide. "She's like, the hottest girl I've ever met!" I sighed, rolling my eyes.

"Seriously, Jon? I just met her today, so calm down. I would have told you at lunch, but _somebody_ got in trouble and couldn't leave," I snapped at him. Jon and I argued often, although never really about anything serious.

"That was not my fault! She called me an idiot! Are teachers even allowed to do that?" I chuckled at his angered face. "I mean, isn't there some law that they have to be nice to you?"

I shook my head. "I'm pretty sure there's not," I told him with a grin. He scowled.

"Well, there should be." He seemed to remember then what the conversation had started about. "Oh! You need you to talk to Isabelle for me. Convince her to hang out with me or something. Maybe take off with Seb during gym and leave her with me so we can talk?" he asked hopefully. I rolled my eyes.

"I just made friends with her. I'm not subjecting her to forty-five minutes with _you_." He glared at me.

"Har-har," he said in irritation. I sighed as he brushed by me to head to his room.

"Fine," I called to his back. "But I'm only setting you guys up once, then you need to figure it out." He spun to me with a grin and raced back to where we stood, tackling me in a bear hug. I grunted with the force of it.

"Get off of me," I hissed out. Laughing, my brother released me and ran to his room. I rolled my eyes after him.

Sebastian laughed and kissed my cheek before pulling me into the kitchen. I started to gather a snack for us together, reaching for the jar of peanut butter in one of the cupboards and then grabbing a couple apples from the fridge. I started to slice them up while Sebastian scooped some peanut butter from the jar and plopped it onto the plate. When I was done cutting the apples up, I set them on the plate and he took it to the table. I sat down beside Seb and grabbed a slice from the plate.

I heard Jon's footsteps as he came to mooch off of our snack. I munched on the apple slice and watched in amusement as he tried to put on the charm to get away with a handful of apple slices. Jon was extremely charming—to people who didn't know him like Seb and I did. So I watched as Jon tried to charm Seb into a snack. He knew it wouldn't work on me, so he was trying on his best friend. Yeah. That's gonna happen.

I laughed when Seb finally got tired of his pestering and smacked him playfully on the back of the head.

"Stop begging, man!" he cried, tossing a slice at him. I laughed when Jon just sat down happily and dipped the apple into the peanut butter. Sebastian sighed, but didn't stop him.

I only had a few slices while the boys devoured the rest of the plate. There was a time when I would've given them some competition, but I'd been working on how much I ate lately.

I left the two to mess around together, taking my bag up to my room. I pulled my sketchbook out and flipped through for a clean page. I started to draw a basic face structure once again, although this time I was unsure who it was going to be. Allowing my hand to make the decisions, the pencil formed a slightly pointed chin and a rounder face with a smaller forehead than that of a male. I made full lips smiling and a petite nose.

Eventually, I realized it was Isabelle. It wasn't too much of a surprise, since I tended to draw people that I knew a lot. My sketchbooks were full of pictures of my friends and family. I even occasionally drew a picture of someone I knew from school that I didn't really know too well.

As I flipped to a new page, finished with that sketch for now, I reached up above my head to the shelf that my iPod dock rested on and hit shuffle. I shuffled through sketch after sketch, not really paying attention to what I was drawing.

When Sebastian came in, I didn't hear the door open. My music was playing too loud for me to hear it. So when the sketchbook was suddenly ripped from where it rested balanced against my knees, I gasped in surprise. The paper slipped against my palm, sending the burning feeling of several paper cuts through my hand.

"What the hell," Sebastian growled out, holding up my sketch towards me before throwing it down on my bedspread. I looked at it and noticed that, although it was unfinished, it was clearly a picture of Jace.

I quickly snatched the sketchbook up, looking to Sebastian with pleading eyes.

"Seb, I draw pictures of everyone," I said, seeing the anger in his eyes. "Look." I flipped through a few pages, showing pictures of him, Isabelle, Jon, Alec, Magnus, my parents. Even a girl who had been sitting outside at lunch a week ago. I'd been working on drawing people, so there were lots of examples.

Sebastian ripped the book from my hands again and dropped it carelessly onto the ground.

"I don't want to see you drawing another guy. Ever," he snapped, his fists clenched at his sides. I nodded immediately. He bent down and picked up the sketchbook again, glaring at the half-finished sketch. I winced at the sound of tearing paper. When I looked back at him, I saw that he was crumpling the picture into a ball with one hand. He threw it into the bin across the room and dropped the sketchbook back onto the bed.

"I'm sorry," I said softly, looking away from him and down at my hands. I saw him shove his hands through his dark hair before taking a seat on the edge of my bed.

"It's okay," he said. "You just made me angry, drawing him. I don't like seeing that he's on your mind enough to draw." I smiled a little at him and nodded.

"Okay. I won't draw him anymore." He smiled back and reached for me, resting a hand on my cheek.

He leaned forward to touch his lips to mine, his hand slipping to the back of my neck. I let my hands rest on his shoulders as one of his slipped under my shirt edge to rest on my back. His other hand moved away from the back of my neck to rest on my shoulder. He abruptly pushed me down onto the bed, making my eyes fly open in shock at the rough movement.

When his lips continued to move softly against my own, I relaxed back into his touch. One hand supported himself above me while the other ran down my side to rest on my hip and back up again, rucking my shirt up to my chest.

I rested a hand on his chest when he started to play with the frayed edge of my shorts. We'd gone further before, but I wasn't comfortable having sex when we were in the house with Jon, who could walk in at any moment.

When his hand didn't leave the hem of my shorts, I applied some pressure behind my hand. He pulled his lips away from mine and I tried to sit up only for his free hand to go to my shoulder, holding me to the bed.

"What is it?" he asked, looking confused. I frowned.

"Jon is downstairs," I hissed. He raised a brow.

"We can make it quick then," he said, lowering his head to kiss me again. I turned my head to the side and his lips landed on my cheek. Undeterred, he continued to make his way down my neck until he reached my collarbone.

"Seb," I moaned as he nipped at my skin. "We need to stop." My voice came out breathy and much less impactful then I'd intended.

I pushed at his chest again but he ignored me, his hand wandering to my side again. His hand was warm and familiar on my skin and everything in me was screaming to shut my mouth and let him continue to make me feel good.

When his mouth covered mine again, I kissed him back, doing an awful job of convincing both him and myself that we needed to stop.

His hand slipping up towards the clasp of my bra was enough to remind me. I pushed his hand away, turning my head to the side to avoid his kisses.

"Sebastian," I said, more firmly this time. "Not right now."

I tried to push him off again, but he didn't budge. "Sebastian," I said, my voice close to a beg.

When it became evident that he wasn't going to listen to my pleas, I dropped my hands from his chest in defeat. I'd had sex with him before, it wasn't like it would be awful if I did again, I reasoned. I still wasn't exactly comfortable while Jon was in the house, but what were the odds that he would walk in anyway?

I'd fallen asleep a few hours later, after Seb had left. I had taken a quick shower and gotten changed into more comfortable clothes before slipping into bed, too exhausted from the long day to do anything else.

I woke to a soft knock on my bedroom door. I lifted my head up, blinking blearily as Jon poked his head in. He smiled at me, his teeth flashing in the dark room.

"Hey," he said, stepping in and leaving the door open a crack so he could see enough to get to my bed. I rolled onto my back and looked up at him as he sat down by my side. "I figured you were asleep when you didn't come down to get anything to eat. Are you okay? You didn't have a fight with Sebastian did you?"

I shook my head, smiling a little at his concern. "No. Just tired," I said honestly.

He smiled, looking relieved. "Good. I didn't feel like kicking his ass today." I grinned at him and chuckled.

"Jon, he's bigger than you. He would wipe the floor with you." Jon rolled his eyes at me and ruffled my hair.

"Thanks for the confidence, Sis," he said sarcastically. I grinned at him and he looked at me with a straight face for a minute before he gave up and smiled back.

"You should come down and get something to eat before you go to sleep, Clare." I shrugged, snuggling down into my blankets further.

"I'm tired." Jon sighed and stood up.

"I'll go make you a sandwich or something," he offered. I shook my head.

"I'm not hungry," I told him. "I just want to sleep." He looked conflicted, but shrugged.

"If you need anything, just call me, okay?" he asked, clearly thinking I was sick now. I nodded anyway.

He kissed me on the forehead before leaving my room. He shut my door behind me and it was dark again, light no longer coming in from the hallway.

I sighed and relaxed back on the pillows. I stared up at the ceiling for a while before I turned over to lie on my side. I didn't want to tell Jon that I was trying to lose weight because he would just tell me that it was stupid. But he's my brother, so I'd always be perfect to him. Sebastian was more honest with me. He helped me, told me the truth even if it hurt.

He'd told me tonight that I was still eating too much, that I needed to cut down more. I flipped over again onto my other side, staring at the wall and wishing that I was as tired as I'd told Jon I was. I reached over to my nightstand for my phone and pulled it up to me.

I saw that I had a missed message and frowned when I saw that it was from Sebastian. He'd just left a few hours ago. Why was he texting me? I took a quick look at it and saw that it was just 'hey'. Not feeling much like texting right now, I ignored it and picked a game to play.

I had probably twenty games on my phone. They kept me entertained when I had nothing else to do. I shuffled through them until I found one I wanted to play. I didn't move from my spot, playing some game where you have to tap the black tiles, until I was sleepy. I didn't think to plug my phone in before going to bed like I usually did, just dropped my phone and rolled over, tucking the blankets up around me.

I didn't wake up until eight in the morning the next day. At first, I tried to check the time on my phone to make sure that my alarm hadn't gotten off track, only to have a picture of an empty battery flash up at me tauntingly. I launched myself out of bed and out of my room. I raced down the hallway to slam my fist against Jon's door repeatedly.

When I heard footsteps on the stairs behind me, I spun around to see Jon looking at my placidly, his eyes alert and two coffee mugs in his hands. He raised a brow at me and I held my hands up in question.

"Jon, do you realize what time it is? It's Tuesday, and it's eight! School starts at seven forty-five!" He just nodded calmly, holding a cup out to me.

I took it slowly, looking at him in confusion.

"You seemed tired last night. I figured you could take a day off from school." I looked at him seriously for a minute, thinking that he must be joking. Then I grinned.

"You're awesome," I said, holding the mug in my hands closer to me.

Jon was always the parent in the house when our real parents were gone. He made sure I was up for school, that things got done, that the house stayed clean. Sometimes, it could get irritating to have him walking around like he was my mom while my real mom was never here.

But sometimes I realized that Jon didn't have to take on the responsibility of being a parent. He didn't have to take on that role, but he did to make sure that we both ended up doing something with ourselves.

But then again, Jon was just a teenager like me, so it really wasn't so odd that he was giving me a day off.

"I know," he said smugly. "but it never hurts to be reminded." I laughed lightly, heading back for my room to get dressed, sipping at my coffee as I did.

"And this wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that you don't know the password for Hulu to watch the Game of Thrones now would it?" I called behind me. Jon was immediately stuttering to deny it and I grinned, waving him off as I slipped back into my room.

When I was ready for the day, dressed in a simple pair of yoga shorts and a tank top, I headed downstairs. My hair was up in a messy bun and my coffee cup was empty and ready for a refill. I was definitely ready for a Game of Thrones marathon.

I'd watched the Game of Thrones before, but only up to the third episode. Jon hadn't watched any of it except for parts of what he'd seen me watching. He was excited to watch it, I knew, based on what he'd heard from commercials. He was most excited for—and I quote—'the hot dragon lady'. I assumed he meant Daenerys, who wasn't the 'hot dragon lady' yet where I was. She was just a chick who has a brat for a brother who traded her to some barbarian for an army.

I dropped down on the couch next to Jon and held my cup out for him to get me a refill. He sighed but stood up and headed to the kitchen. I wondered if I should ask him not to put sugar in it, but I shrugged it off. I could go off from at least that for today.

This was my lazy day.

I turned the TV on and flipped it to Hulu, going to my recently watched list and selected the Game of Thrones. I kicked it back to the first episode and waited for Jon to come back with my coffee. "You know, there's a guy in this show named Jon," I called to his as he came back in with two full cups.

He handed on to me with a grin. "Awesome." Then he frowned. "Shit, I hope he doesn't die in the first episode." I laughed and hit play, taking my cup from him.

Of course, I'd never thought about the fact that showing my overprotective brother a show like Game of Thrones was a bad idea. After the first episode I'd watched, I'd gotten used to seeing the near-constant nudity and sex scenes. Jonathan, however, was not prepared for any of it. His hand immediately flew out to cover my eyes when the first naked girl appeared on the screen. I shoved his hand away and shot him a glare.

"I'm not six, Jon," I grumbled as he quickly hit the pause button.

"You did not tell me that this show was worse than True Blood!" I bit my lip to try and stifle my laughter as Jon dropped his head back on the couch and ran a hand down his face.

"Oh, come on, it's a good show," I protested when he started to get up. "I just ignore the sex scenes," I said with a shrug. "They only last a few seconds." Jon froze, looking at me with a raised brow.

"Seems like the guys on this show need better stamina."

My eyes immediately widened. "No! No, I didn't mean it like that! I didn't mean it like the guys, I meant—ugh! You know what I meant, Jon!"

He began to laugh as I snatched the remote from him and hit play again. Halfway through the scene where the Starks found the dire wolves, I turned to Jon with a sudden thought.

"Did you let Seb know where we were?" He looked at me blankly. Then he cursed out loud.

"Fuck," he groaned. "No. I knew I was forgetting something." I sighed, standing up to go grab my phone. I happened to glimpse at the TV before I got all the way up and noticed that it was getting to a really good part.

I dropped back down onto the couch to watch for a few more minutes. Seb could wait a bit. He was probably in class right now. I didn't really have to worry until third period when he would expect me to walk to art with him.

Before I knew it, we were on the third episode. We'd just gotten to the part I'd been at where Cat shows up at the capital when I heard a knock on the door. I looked at the clock quickly and bit my lip to stifle a curse. Jon looked at the clock, then at me with a look that clearly read a repeat of what he'd said earlier. I snatched the remote from him and paused the show before getting up and rushing to the door.

I flung it open to reveal an angry-looking Sebastian and, to my surprise, Isabelle. My brows shot up as I noticed her standing a few steps behind my boyfriend.

"Clary!" Seb said, drawing my attention back to him. I looked at him guiltily, clasping my fingers together behind my back. "Where the hell have you been? I was looking for you all freaking day! Do you know how worried I was?!" I winced at his raised voice, looking out past Sebastian and Isabelle to see that our neighbor across the road had turned to look at us.

"Seb, please lower your voice. People are staring," I said, stepping back to invite the two in. I gave Isabelle a questioning look.

She shrugged with a small smile. "I wanted to know where you guys were. Sebastian was looking for you at our lunch and said he was going to your house when nobody knew where you were. I offered to go with him." I raised my brows at her, feeling a tinge of hurt suddenly.

"What about Maia? She wasn't worried?" Isabelle's eyes widened.

"Oh no, it's not like she didn't care. She just said she wasn't too concerned, that you would text if anything was wrong."

I nodded and shut the door behind Isabelle. I followed the two into the living room, where Jon greeted Sebastian from the couch.

"Don't you guys need to get back, like now?" Jon asked them. "If you're going to make it to your next class you're gonna have to race back." Sebastian shrugged it off.

"I'm more interested in finding out why nobody thought it'd be a good idea to let me know where both my girlfriend and best friend were. Especially since you freaking drive to school together. For all I know, you could've crashed into a ditch somewhere!" I sighed.

"I'm sorry, Seb. I meant to text you but I forgot," I said, resting a hand on his arm to try and calm him down. He stepped away and my hand fell back to my side, my face falling. "Seb," I started.

"No," he snapped. "If you can't even bother to respond to my fucking texts, why should I bother to stay here and listen to you?" He stormed past me towards the door, his fists clenched in fury.

"Sebastian!" I cried, rushing after him down the hallway. "Seb!" I was right behind him when he reached the door and he flung it open, nearly sending it straight into me. I flinched back to avoid it and scrambled out the door when I realized that he was already halfway down the path to his car.

I sprinted after him to catch up to his long strides and grabbed his arm, trying to make him stop. He spun around and ripped his arm out of my grip, making me lose my balance and nearly fall. "Sebastian, please. I'm sorry, I just forgot. Jon told me I could stay home today and I didn't think—"

"No! You didn't, did you? You _never _think, Clarissa! Just like when you don't think about how caring more about a boy you just met then me would hurt me!"

"Sebastian," I said in a near whisper. "I don't care about him more than you. I just walked him to class. I don't love him, I love you."

"Apparently not enough," he spat. The words were like a dagger to my chest, to hear that he didn't think I loved him enough. And they were like lighting a fire in me. He didn't think I _loved_ him enough? All I _did_ was love him! He's the one that didn't show his love!

"Bullshit I don't love you enough," I snapped. I saw his eyes widen in surprise. I hardly _ever_ cursed. That just made me angrier. It was _his fault_ that I was cursing now. "If I didn't love you, I wouldn't put up with your moods! It's not like you're exactly easy to be with, Sebastian." The boy just rolled his dark eyes at me.

"It's not like you could do any better, Clarissa. Who else would put up with their girlfriend acting the way you do, looking the way you do? You think you'd be more thankful that I stay with you. If you really care that little, maybe I shouldn't stay with you." He spun on his heel as I felt my heart sink to my feet. Tears began to well up in my eyes, dousing my anger like it was fire.

"Please Sebastian," I called as he opened his door. "Just stay and talk with me," I pleaded, worried that if he left he wouldn't come back. I didn't want to lose him. I didn't know what I would do without him there for me. It wasn't like anyone else would rush to fill the hole he left if he did.

He ignored me, throwing himself into the car and slamming the door behind him. He'd whipped away from the curb and sped away before I realized that I was crying. I swiped at my eyes with a shaking hand as my body began to tremble.

I heard footsteps behind me and flinched slightly when cool fingers circled my wrist, pulling my hand away from where it'd been resting on my upper arm. I was pulled gently into a hard chest, arms circling my waist as I clutched at my brother's shirt, tears falling down my cheeks silently.

Jon rubbed soothing circles on my back for a while before releasing one of his arms and guiding me forward, back to the house. He managed to get me to the couch before I let my legs give out. I fell back on the couch and leaned forward so that my elbows rested on my knees my face in my hands. I'd stopped crying, but my breathing was still shaky.

Jon had taken a seat next to me and had an arm slung around my shoulders reassuringly.

"What the hell did he say to you, Clare?" he asked, his voice trembling with rage. I bit my lip and took a deep breath, trying to calm down before I answered.

"He said that if I cared little enough about whether he stayed with me or not, then maybe he wouldn't." Jon sighed, pulling my tighter against his side.

"Oh, Clare. He's not going to leave you. He loves you too much. But what else was this about? There's no way he flipped that much just because you didn't text him when you stayed home from school."

I looked at him and shrugged. Over his shoulder, I noticed with a shock that Isabelle was sitting in the recliner to the side, looking at the two of us in concern.

"Is he always like that?" she asked me. Jon immediately shook his head.

"No. I've never seen him flip about something like that. There's got to be something else going on," he defended, looking to me for an explanation.

"I don't know," I said, a half lie that I instantly felt the need to rectify. "Well, I think I might know but it doesn't make any sense."

Both of them looked at me and I was hit by a sudden sense of hilarity. Here was Jon and Isabelle sitting in a room together, and Jon wasn't even looking at her. He'd wanted me to set them up, and I kind of had. But now he wasn't paying the beautiful girl any attention.

"What is it?" Jon asked, looking hesitant, as though he wasn't completely sure he wanted to know.

I sighed, eyes flickering to Isabelle. I didn't know what her relationship was to Jace. I mean, I knew he was her brother—although I suspected there was something off about that, since he looked nothing like her or Alec—and I didn't know how she would react to what Sebastian's little scene may have been about.

Finally, I decided that it was such a minor detail that it didn't matter. Clearly, Seb wasn't as concerned about whether I talked to Jace as he was about whether I cared about him enough. I just needed to reassure him that I still loved him.

I just shook my head at Jon's impatient look. "I don't know, I think it could just be that I haven't been using my phone a lot lately, haven't been texting him a lot. So I think he's just worried that I don't want to talk to him as much anymore, I don't know," I said quickly.

Jon looked skeptical but shrugged then looked over to the girl sitting nearby.

He seemed to suddenly notice that Isabelle Lightwood was sitting two feet away, and his little sister and her problems no longer existed. He jumped to his feet and shot Isabelle his most charming smile.

"Why don't I drive you home? I assume Sebastian drove you two here?" She nodded and thanked him and a sudden thought hit me like a truck.

Isabelle asked me if I was okay to be alone, a caring friend even though I'd just met her yesterday, and I'd said that I would be fine. I thanked her and said goodbye, going through all the normal pleasantries, even hugging her goodbye, something I had done with anyone in a while.

All the while, my mind was stuck on one thought.

Sebastian threw a tantrum when I walked Jace to a shared class, but he had just driven the fifteen minutes to get here alone in a car with Isabelle.

Why could he be alone in an enclosed space with the gorgeous new girl when I couldn't even walk to class in a public school with the new boy?

* * *

**So this should have been updated last night, when I was in a great mood to write and finish up the chapter. You can blame my sister's boyfriend for the fact that it wasn't. We stayed up until past midnight watching Thor. And you can blame the game of thrones for the fact that it wasn't updated earlier today. **

**Holy cow, by the way, I just started watching that show and I'm pretty certain that it is the TV show equivalent of fifty shades of gray 0.o. Don't get me wrong, it's an awesome show. I'm just pretty sure that there's more naked girls in it than there is in porn.**

**Don't forget to review if you liked the chapter, every review literally makes my day, and I smile so much my face may soon stick like that :) (BUT THAT'S OKAY I LIKE SMILING SO FEEL FREE TO MAKE ME SMILE!)**

**-Cassidy **


	4. Chapter 4

**I know this is long but pleeeaaase AT LEAST READ UNDER IMPORTANT! Thaaaanks :D**

** Heeeyyyy. I'm so sorry for the wait but the past week or so has been super hectic for me. First I was at my friends campsite for almost a week then I had a competition to go to that lasted all day and a practice the day befor it that lasted all day and UGH. **

**Oh and let's not forget the tornado that hit fifteen minutes away from where I was at the time! Seriously, the power AND water was out for two days -.- but it could have been so much worse so I'm thankful that I was safe and so was everybody else that I cared about. **

***IMPORTANT* **

**There seemed to be a bit of confusion about a scene in the last chapter. It was the scene where Clary and Sebastian had sex-so yes, they did have sex. It's up to YOU though, to decide whether Clary was completely willing. Remember, she was trying to stop him but gave up. She clearly wasn't feeliby like it, but knew she couldn't stop Sebastian anyway so really it's your opinion on whether that's sexual assault or not. **

**hope this cleared some things up for you!**

* * *

My mind stuck on the argument between Seb and I for the rest of the night. For a minute after Jon and Isabelle left, I stayed frozen on the couch, staring into space as I thought over the things I should have said that would have made things go so much smoother.

Finally, I sighed and stood up from the couch. I grabbed the remote and shut the TV off. There was no way I could focus on the show now. I grabbed the bag of chips Jon and I had been snacking on and put them away, pausing in the kitchen to grab a bottle of water.

As soon as I reached my room, I walked over to the window and pulled the curtains shut to block out the midday sun. I didn't bother changing out of my lazy clothes, just slipped into my bed that was still unmade from this morning. I sighed as I pulled the covers over my shoulders. Lately, I felt like I was sleeping to get away from all my problems.

_I'm hungry but I can't eat. Let's sleep._

_I fought with my boyfriend. Let's sleep._

If only it actually solved my problems.

I groaned and rolled over, rubbing my temples. I could feel a throbbing starting up behind my eyes and slammed my fist down on the bed furiously as black spots started to pop up in my vision. Now I was going to get a migraine.

"Just flippin' great," I grumbled, clenching my eyes shut and covering my head.

Maybe sleep would fix everything after all.

When I woke up, the light was no longer filtering through the curtains and my fan was running. I couldn't remember turning it on before I laid down. Glancing at the glowing numbers on the alarm clock beside me, I saw that it was a little past one in the morning.

The light of the clock illuminated the room just enough that I could see a shape slumped against the side of my bed. I jumped in alarm, nearly screaming before I recognized the short, pale hair.

My shoulders slumped in relief when I realized that it was just my brother. He was sitting on the floor, his back against the side of my bed and his head back against the top of it. I sat up slowly and smiled when I looked down at Jon. His lips were parted while he slept and his hair was tousled, his long eyelashes casting shadows on his cheeks, making him appear younger and more angelic than he was.

I reached a hand out and rested it on his shoulder, shaking gently. He jerked up when I did and I saw him wince, a hand flying to the back of his neck. "Ow, dammit," he cursed under his breath.

I chuckled quietly and he looked up at me with an eye roll, dropping his hand.

"You're mean," he said jokingly. "Laughing at your older brother's pain. Downright cruel." He stood up as I laughed again, smiling himself.

He sat down on the side of my bed just like he had the night before and opened his arms towards me. I immediately moved towards him, letting him wrap his arms around my back and burying my head into his chest.

"I don't know what Sebastian's issue was, but whatever it was, I know you two can make it through it. You've stayed together through everything. You'll stay together through this too." I nodded into his chest, his words soothing to the pain in my heart. "And if you two ever don't make it through something, I'll kick his ass, okay?" I laughed and nodded once again, tightening my arms around his neck.

We sat there for a few minutes before Jon shifted, pushing me away gently to reposition himself so he was leaning back against my headrest. I leaned into his side and he wrapped an arm around me.

"I love you, little sis," he said, squeezing my shoulder. I smiled, letting my head rest on his shoulder and shutting my eyes, soothed by the comfort my brother could give me.

"Love you too, big bro," I sighed.

The next day, Jon woke me up when it was time to get ready for school. He offered me another day off, but I refused it.

All I wanted, actually, was to accept his offer and just stay in bed all day. But I knew that if I stayed home, there would be no guarantee that Sebastian would try to contact me at all. And I knew we had to fix things, had to talk.

I knew that I could fix things, if I just had some time to talk to him. So I got dressed quickly, not bothering with a shower. I'd taken one the previous day in the middle of our Game of Thrones three episode marathon.

I didn't bother trying to look nice today, just threw on the first pair of shorts I found and a random tank top. I rushed down the hall, nearly colliding with Jon as he left his room. He put his hands on my shoulders to steady me before I fell on him and looked at me with a raised brow.

"Well someone looks a bit too anxious to get to school. Did Sebastian call you or something while I was gone?"

I shook my head, my high spirits dropping a little. "No, he didn't even text," I said, checking my phone screen again to see if he had since the last time I'd looked at it. He hadn't.

Jon sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I'm sure you two will make up today," he said, reaching out to ruffle my hair, reminding me that I still had to do something with it.

Jon headed down the stairs and I followed him, my bare feet padding on the wooden stairs. At one time, the sixth stair down would have creaked, but my father had gotten it fixed the last time my parents had been home.

We reached the kitchen and I walked to the toaster and shoved a piece of bread into it. I sat at the table as Jon poured me a cup of coffee. I scraped my hair up into a ponytail and glanced at my reflection on the stove's glass. I groaned, pulled my hair out of the tie, and redid the ponytail to get rid of the obvious bump in the back of my hair.

When I was pleased with it, I turned to see Jon pulling the sugar from a cupboard above him.

"Don't put any sugar in mine," I told him. He turned to look at me with raised brows.

"You always put sugar in your coffee," he objected. I gave him a one-shouldered shrug.

"I don't want it today," I said sharply. He looked a little surprised at my tone, but walked over and set my coffee in front of me.

He sat down across from me just as my toast popped up in the toaster. I stood up quickly and grabbed the hot toast carefully. I rushed over to the table and threw it down, waving my hand around to cool my burning fingers down. Jon rolled his eyes.

"You know, you could've just brought a plate over." I frowned at him.

"That's too much work." He chuckled at my response as I sat back down. I sipped at my coffee as he told me about Isabelle's house.

"It was _huge_," he said. "Her parents have _got_ to be loaded. Like, more than ours." That was a surprise.

There was a small group of houses near the middle of town that had been built years ago in an attempt to attract a richer population. These houses were just short of mansions. There were four of them and two of them had been occupied before the Lightwoods moved in. Now three were, and apparently they had taken the biggest of the four. Now, Jon and I knew that our house was nice. It was bigger than most houses in the town, but it wasn't one of the 'mansions'—as everyone called them. But we also knew that our parents could afford one of those bigger houses if they wanted us to live in one.

But what was the point in it? Only four people would be living in it anyway, so why move into a house that can room twenty? As it was, our house contained two guest rooms, and both my room and Jon's had a bathroom connected. With a giant living room and a roomy kitchen, what more did we need? Especially since it was usually just the two of us.

"I wonder what her parents do," I said thoughtfully. "Did you ask?" he gave me an incredulous look.

"Don't you think that'd be a little rude?" I frowned, shaking my head.

"No, I don't. Why is it rude to ask what her parents do?" I snapped.

"Because then it'll sound like I only want to talk to her because she's rich," he argued back.

I rolled my eyes and swallowed the last bit of my coffee. "Jon, we're rich. We have no reason to use her for her money." I stood up, pushing my chair in under the table and scarfing down my toast.

"She doesn't know that, though," he said. I shrugged.

"She'll find out soon, I'm sure. Somebody will give her the dish on everyone at school," I said, thinking of how quick people were to talk about others at a school this small.

Jon stood up too, shrugging back. "Let's go, shorty. Time for school." I rolled my eyes at him irritably.

"Don't call me that." He just laughed, grabbing the keys from the counter and heading down the hallway. I followed him with a sigh. I slid into the passenger seat while Jon walked around the car to the driver's seat.

The drive to school was silent, which was unusual for us. Both of us liked to talk, and both of us did it a lot. But the tension in the car due to Sebastian's absence was fairly obvious. The fact that he wasn't here wasn't all that odd. It wasn't like he could spend the night at our house _every _night, so a lot of the time it was just me and Jon making the trip to the school. The tension was that the fight last night and his absence today worked together to make it seem like he would never be here again.

When we pulled into our usual parking space, I reached for the door and stepped out. I waited for Jon and then we headed towards the school together. "Oh look, it's your girlfriend," I teased when I saw Isabelle walking towards us across the front lawn. In _heels_.

As soon as she was within hearing range, I spoke up. "How are you walking through grass in six inch heels?" I asked her, completely impressed by her feat. She waved off my question with a flip of her hand.

"Oh, lots of practice. Are you okay?" she asked, looking at me carefully. I was confused for a second before I remembered her presence while Seb and I fought. I nodded, smiling a little.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just need to talk to him today. Have you seen him?" She looked skeptical as she nodded.

"Yeah. I saw him pull in a few minutes ago. Clary, are you sure that's a good idea? Maybe you should just make him suffer a little before accepting his apology," she said, looking at something over her shoulder. I followed her look and saw a familiar dark head. I looked back to her and smiled a little regretfully.

"But he's not the one suffering, and he's not the one who needs to apologize," I said before breaking away from her and my brother. I walked quickly across the lawn towards Sebastian.

I caught Jordon's eyes over Seb's shoulder and waved towards him. I saw him say something to Sebastian before my boyfriend turned to face me. He looked indifferent to me as I walked over to him and my smile dropped along with my heart.

He wasn't going to forgive me easily, I could see it in his eyes before he turned back to Jordon and began to speak again. When I reached them, Jordon looked between Sebastian and I for a split second before turning and rushing away.

"What do you want?" Sebastian asked me, turning to look at me with a sigh. I frowned.

"I wanted to talk about yesterday, Seb," I said, resting a hand on his wrist.

"What is there to talk about?" he asked, sighing and looking at me sadly, his dark eyes shadowed. "It's pretty clear that you don't care enough to even _call_ me so I don't spend all day worrying about you, wondering what could have happened."

"Seb," I said, my voice a choked whisper. "Of course I care." My eyes were stinging as he looked at me with shining eyes. "I love you, you know I love you. And I mean it when I say that I meant to text you. I swear, I love you so much it hurts, and it wasn't a lack of caring that made me forget to call or text. It was just that I was hanging out with Jon and I lost track of time," I tried to explain, sliding my hand down to his and twining my fingers with his.

For a split second, I was afraid that he was going to pull away and refuse to accept my apology. But then, his eyes softened and he tangled his fingers with mine more tightly and pulled me to him with a sigh, wrapping his arms around my shoulders when I was close enough.

"It's okay," he said, resting his chin on top of my head as I slung my arms around his neck, breathing in the familiar scent of his cologne. Relief washed through me like a tidal wave, wiping away the worries that had been filling my mind about Sebastian rejecting my apology and walking away from me forever. My heartbeat, which had been racing before, slowed to a more normal pace as my fear disappeared.

I was just about to pull out of his embrace, knowing classes would start soon, when I felt something collide with my back. I stumbled, causing Seb to stumble back a half-step. I heard a familiar voice yell a familiar name and began to recite every swear word I'd ever heard in my head.

"Alec! Would you watch what you're doing?" I turned to face the source of the voice just as he turned to face me. "I'm sorry, my idiotic brother clearly wasn't paying attention to anything but his own damn—oh, hi," Jace said, cutting himself off before he finished insulting the dark haired, scowling boy beside him. He smiled at me before looking to Sebastian, whose hands were resting on my shoulders protectively.

"Oh," he said again, as though just noticing Seb's presence. "I see you two were having a moment, so I'll just back away now and go yell at Alec some more," he said good-naturedly before throwing a thumb over his shoulder at his brother. I rolled my eyes as he turned and smacked poor Alec on the back of the head.

"Oh no," Sebastian said from behind me, surprising me enough that I tilted my head back to look at him. "It's no problem." Jace shrugged.

"Still, if it gives me an excuse to hit Alec then I'll take it," he joked. Then he looked at me with raised brows, a grin that I didn't particularly like or trust slipping onto his lips. I narrowed my eyes at him, a silent warning not to say whatever he was thinking about saying. His lips turned up into a crooked smirk before shooting the two of us a mock salute and turning away and heading towards the school building.

Alec stood in place for a second, shooting me a venomous look before following his brother away from us. My brows furrowed after him. What was that about?

Sebastian's grip on my shoulders loosened and I pulled out of it to turn and look at him. Thankfully, he didn't seem upset with me. He was glaring after Jace and his brother in mild irritation, but there was no irrational jealously like I'd seen the last time he'd caught me talking to him.

"I don't like him," Seb grumbled. I just nodded, letting him take that however he wanted before letting him walk me to my locker.

I didn't like or dislike Jace particularly. I'd only really talked to him a few times, so I didn't feel it was my place to make that judgment yet. Of course, I wished that he was a jerk so that I could justly hate him. It would just make it so much easier but, as it was, he seemed like an okay guy.

And honestly, I could see myself being good friends with Isabelle, but I wasn't naïve enough to think that I could be around Isabelle without running into her brother every now and then. And I knew that Sebastian wouldn't like that at all. But Jace was also in at least one of my classes, so I couldn't totally avoid him.

_If_ _only Jace was a complete asshole,_ I thought to myself bitterly as Sebastian pecked me on the cheek before heading off to his locker in a different part of the school. This whole situation had me in a bad place. My only choices were to be civil to Jace and catch hell from my boyfriend every day or to be a bitch to Jace to get him to stop talking to me. And the second option would be a no-brainer if Jace was a bad person. But he didn't seem to be.

"I'm just screwed," I muttered to myself, slamming my locker shut angrily.

"Forget to do your homework, Biscuit?" I sighed and turned to Magnus. I opened my mouth to snap back a smart comment when my eyes caught onto what he was wearing.

My very colorful friend was wearing a fuchsia pink vest with glitter on the shoulders over a black button up shirt. His pants were black slacks to match the business style with a bright pink belt with a sparkly 'M' in the center. And his shoes matched his vest. Of course, his eye makeup was all done up as well. Winged black eyeliner accentuated his very light green eyes—almost a yellow, not bright green like Jon and I's—and fuchsia eyeshadow covered his lids. And he managed to pull the ensemble off like it was made for him.

"Magnus, you're…pinker…than usual." Magnus smirked proudly.

"I know! Isn't it _amazing_?" I choked back a laugh. Typical Magnus.

"Of course," I said, as seriously as I could manage. He rolled his eyes at my failed attempt to compliment the outfit.

"Whatever. You just don't understand fashion," he said, waving his hand dismissively. "So why are you screwed?" I blinked blankly for a second, not remembering what I'd been talking about. Then I remembered my mutterings to myself.

"Oh, that. No, I was just thinking about something else," I said vaguely, shifting my bag on my shoulder. Magnus gave me a knowing look.

"Sebastian was absolutely freaking out yesterday, you know. Had no clue where you were. It was pretty cute, actually, seeing him so worried. Damn, was I jealous. Why don't I have a boyfriend like that?" Magnus sighed overdramatically and I laughed a little.

"Hey, back off my boyfriend," I joked. It was no secret that Magnus Bane was _very_ gay—or as he called it, 'freewheeling bisexual'. Magnus leaned towards me conspiratorially.

"I'm not going after your boytoy, no worries. But do be a dear and put a good word in for me with Alexander, since you're friends with Isabelle." I frowned at him.

"Alexander?"

"Alec," Magnus corrected. "His full name is Alexander, and I find that so much more appealing than his nickname." I shrugged, not really surprised that Magnus was trying to get me to hook him up. He'd done it a few times before.

"Is Alec even gay?" I asked, not really knowing how Magnus would be able to know the guy's sexual preference already.

"Oh, he's gay," Magnus said, waving a hand at me. "I can tell." My brows furrowed in confusion.

"How? He doesn't look any gay-er to me than anyone else," I joked. Seriously, I trusted Magnus' opinion on things like this.

He's the most perceptive person I've ever met. He picks up on the subtlest of things and can tell more about a person after only meeting them once than most people can after twenty encounters.

"You'll never know," Magnus teased, his eyes glinting knowingly. "I'll see you later," he said, waving as he turned and rushed to class. I checked the time on my phone and almost cursed out loud.

I spun on my heel quickly and started booking it to English. I was late, and anticipating a scolding, when I reached the class. But when I looked at the desk, I sighed in relief to see that the teacher was late as well.

"Lucky, Morgenstern," someone called out. I turned to the voice and stuck my tongue out at one of Magnus' friends, Ragnor.

I took my seat next to Isabelle just as the teacher walked in and the dark haired girl shot me a mock-scolding look. I just grinned and pulled my notebook out. We were working on writing short stories, and our current topic was romance. The teacher was giving us examples of classic, well-known romances on the board. Meanwhile, Isabelle was giving me the run-down from yesterday, as the teacher had asked her to. Yesterday, we'd been told that we would be completing a project at the end of the unit with a partner of our choosing. It was to be a story about an epic romance.

Isabelle, claiming that she didn't know crap about love, had declared that I be her partner when the project was actually assigned. She said that with my experience with Sebastian, I should be able to help her understand so she can help with the project. I agreed, glad to have someone to work with.

When English was over, I headed towards Spanish dreadfully. Not only did I probably have to sit next to Jace again today and wallow in my own inner conflict about being nice to him, but there was a quiz today that we'd been told about on Monday.

Of course, Mr. Whitelaw decided to make it so that as soon as you sat down, the quiz began. That was good in one way and bad in another. On one hand, I would have an excuse not to talk to Jace. On the other, I still didn't hablo espanol.

When we handed in our quizzes at the end of the period, Mr. Whitelaw looked at my paper for only a second before telling me to wait by his desk. I sighed and slumped reluctantly over, expecting a scolding that would make my mother proud. And she's the queen of scolding _  
_

But when the teacher called Jace back to his desk while everyone left the room, my heart plummeted to my feet. Sebastian would freak if he saw me leaving the class late with Jace.

"Clarissa," began. "it has become apparent that you are greatly in need of a way to get your grades up in my class and until now, I haven't seen a way to help you." I groaned silently. Why was he doing this in front of Jace? Weren't teachers not allowed to lecture kids about their grades with other kids around? Oh god, now I sound like Jon.

"So my solution is simple. Jace in fluent in Spanish already as he's been learning several languages since he was a child. My solution-possibly your only solution-would be for you to be tutored by Jace."

I looked at Jace with wide eyes, to see him shrug back at me. "Up to you," he said.

Mr. Whitelaw smiled at me, taking my silence for agreement. "It's settled then. Your effort grade will improve immensely as well for the both of you. It's up to you to decide when to meet up outside of school," he finished, smiling brighter than I'd ever seen him.

I looked back at Jace, my stomach jumping into my throat. I would have to spend extra time, outside if school with Jace.

Seb was going to flip.

**Hope you enjoyed it :) once again, I'm so sorry for the wait! It should be so much faster next time. **

**Dont forget to review if you like it :) **

**-Cassidy**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello people :) Just to let you know, there're probably a TON of errors, and it's probably not my best. I've had to write this chapter on my phone, since my computer crapped out on me :( If you've ever had to type almost 5000 words on an Iphone then you understand my struggles. **

* * *

Thankfully, Mr. Whitelaw asked for Jace to stay a little longer for who knows what after he dismissed me. I could only imagine the scene Sebastian would have made had he seen Jace and I leaving together.

As it was, he looked fairly irritated that I was late.

"Sorry," I apologized as soon as I reached where he was leaning against the wall. "Mr. Whitelaw wanted to talk to me." I made the split second decision to not say anything about the tutoring. I would find a way to ease into the idea later.

I wasn't stupid enough to think that I could still pass my Spanish class without getting help. And if Jace really was fluent in Spanish, then it was the perfect setup.

But how could I possibly hide that Jace was tutoring me? There was no way Sebastian would be okay with it. I knew I had to hide it if I were to accept Jace's help. And I had to accept it. I couldn't just fail Spanish to keep my boyfriend happy.

Then it hit me. The English project! I would have to be going to the Lightwoods' house to complete Isabelle and I's project. It was the perfect cover. I could say I was going over to work on the English project and get tutoring. Sebastian still wouldn't be happy, but he'd be happier than he would be if I told him I was going to the Lightwoods' to see Jace specifically.

I felt a weight drop onto my shoulders as I made the decision. I would accept Jace's help, and Seb would never have to know. But that meant committing to lying to my boyfriend for a indefinite amount of time. But it had to be done, for the sake of both of our sanity and peace of mind.

I glanced quickly over my shoulder as Seb started to pull me towards art. Jace looked at me with a raised brow as he exited the Spanish room. I smiled politely before turning back to the hallway ahead of me.

In art, our teacher told us that we'd be working on a new project today.

"You'll be creating a portrait of the person beside you. Which means, no switching your seats until the day the projects are due. You can use any media which you wish. It can be any style as well. Get creative, kids!" She finished, smiling cheerily at us.

I turned to Seb with a grin, while he frowned at me.

"I apologize in advance," he said with a rueful smile. I shrugged, still smiling.

I knew that Sebastian wasn't very great at art. He'd only taken an art class this year so we could have a class together, so he lacked the skill a lot of his peers had. I rested a hand on his arm reassuringly.

"That's okay," I said with a smile. "It can be the most awful thing I've ever seen and I'll still love you."

Sebastian chuckled and leaned forward to press a kiss to my cheek. "Well that's good to hear, because it just might be."

"I can help you," I offered, grinning when his face lit up.

Suddenly, his bright smile was washed away by a frown. "But not tonight," he said, sounding sad. "I have to go to a family dinner tonight. It's going to suck, but my aunt said I have to be there."

I frowned but nodded. Sebastian's aunt was born and raised in France and she was a stickler about things like weekly family dinners.

Of course, Seb barely knew most of his family. His parents had died when he was a baby and he'd been raised by his aunt, who'd never been married and never had kids. I felt bad for him, as his aunt was pretty smothering. She let him go wherever he wanted usually but sometimes she just demanded that he be home for whatever reason.

And for some reason, she absolutely hated me. Seb had always told me not to take it personally, that she hated just about everyone. I'd only had the displeasure of meeting her twice and both times she's treated me like a piece of gum stuck to her shoe while I'd been nothing but polite. And wether she treated everyone like that or not, it still hurt to know that my boyfriend's sole guardian, practically his mom, hated me. Or at least didn't like me.

And Sebastian had never tried to help it. He'd never said anything to her about it. But it wasn't fair of me to expect him to choose me over his family. As much as I loved him, I would never choose him over Jon, so I couldn't expect him to choose me over his aunt.

"Okay," I said a little sadly. Sebastian frowned, pushing a stray hair out of my face.

"Hey, don't be upset with me. I can't do anything about it. You know how my aunt is." I nodded in agreement.

"I'm not upset with you. I'm just...upset in general." Sebastian rolled his eyes and I blinked at him in confusion and a little hurt.

"At least I'm telling you where I'll be instead of just not showing up and not answering my phone," he said sharply.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair tiredly. "Seb, I already apologized for-"

"I know, Clare. But sometimes 'sorry' doesn't make the hurt go away right away." I reached forwards and rested my hand on the back of his neck gently.

"I know," I said sadly. "And I wish so badly that there was something I could do." I tangled my fingers gingerly in his dark hair, the soft strands slipping through my fingers like silk.

Sebastian smiled at me, giving me a one-shouldered shrug. "I'll get over it eventually," he said.

His hand slipped down to rest on my waist and I smiled, leaning forward. Our lips had just barely brushed when the bell rang shrilly, making me jump. Sebastian chuckled, his hand moving to take mine. He pressed a soft kiss to my knuckles. He stood up, pulling me up with him and putting his arm around my waist as I gathered my scattered belongings.

"Clarissa and Sebastian," I heard the teacher call out just before we exited the room. We turned to look at her. She was giving me her 'strict look'. She only gave it to me when other students were around. Otherwise, she acted like we were best friends. "No PDA in my classroom. It makes me feel lonely," she said, adding a wink to let me know she was joking-at least about that last part. I had a feeling she was serious about the 'no PDA' thing. Not that Seb was going to listen, I was sure.

I laughed as she waved us off. Seb guided me from the room and dropped me off at my history class, pressing a soft kiss to my cheek before heading to his own class.

Walking in, I was in a much better mood than I had been all day. Although I wouldn't get to see Seb after school, it seemed like we'd fixed things between us. It seemed like my day was going up until I saw a now-familiar blonde boy standing near the teacher's desk. Mr. Starkweather looked up at me and did something that was somewhere in between a grimace and a smile.

"Ah, yes. There she is. Clarissa, could you please show Jonathan to the seat to your right?" My brows furrowed in confusion. Jon? I looked around and saw that there were only a few people in the room, and none of them were my brother.

"Uh, Jonathan?" I said, giving Mr. Starkweather an odd look. "He's in his English class right now, I think..." I trailed off, unsure what he meant.

Starkweather shot me a nasty look, as though I was supposed to understand already. Jace turned to look at me, his golden eyes glowing in amusement.

"He means me. Not your brother," he said, his hands in his pockets as he watched my reaction carefully. I frowned.

"I thought your name was Jace?"

Jace-Jonathan?-grinned and opened his mouth to respond before my teacher beat him to it.

"I don't care much or nicknames, as you know, Clarissa. So I call Mr. Herondale by his full name. Even if he's gone by his nickname since childhood," he finished pointedly, shooting daggers at Jace.

Jace's eyes flashed dangerously when Starkweather called him Herondale. I frowned, utterly lost now. I thought he was a Lightwood?

The angry look in Jace's eyes reminded me of a lion, and I figured that this name game was a topic for another time.

"To your seats," the teacher demanded. I shrugged and walked to my seat, gesturing to the seat next to me for Jace.

I was confused, to say the least. Jace hadn't been in my history class on his first day here, and apparently not his second either if I had to show him to his seat. I was determined not to talk to Jace unless he talked to me first, but the surplus of questions I had for him couldn't be reined in.

Since we were in rows of one in this class, I felt better talking to him. There was more space between us. A foot long aisle, to be exact. I turned towards him just as he began to talk.

"It's good to see that you and your boyfriend are still going strong," he commented. "Isabelle told me you two had quite the fight last night."

I raised my brows at him and shrugged. I'd figured that Isabelle had told Jace based on how he'd reacted this morning when I was standing with Seb.

"I guess. We're all good now, though," I said. "But why are you in this class?" I asked quickly, trying to get away from the topic of Sebastian. I didn't feel like explaining everything about our fight.

Jace's eyes narrowed as he noticed my topic change. He didn't say anything about it though, just pulled a pencil from his bag.

"My schedule was mixed up for the first two days. They had me in an AP science course instead of the normal one. All my classes got switched around because of it." I nodded, thoughts stuck on Sebastian and how he'd react when he realized I was in history with Jace.

But he didn't have to know, did he? I bit my lip. Seb never walked me to lunch. His math class was on the opposite side of the school and he didn't have time in between that class and the one he had before it to walk all the way down here and to the cafeteria. So he would never know, I reasoned. My brows furrowed when something struck me.

Why should Seb be upset just because I'm in a class with Jace? It was just like being in a class with any other boy. It wasn't like we were going to do anything but listen to the teacher lecture us and take notes. He has no reason to be worried because I have to sit a feet away from Jace for forty-five minutes while we take notes.

Was I really at the point where I was worried about who I was in a class with because my boyfriend might be upset? I rolled my eyes at my own stupidity. If he found out, he found out. If he was furious with me, then let him be furious. He would calm down about it within a few days and see reason. It was just a class.

Now the tutoring, I knew that that was a different story. That was extra time, outside of school, at one of our houses. I could understand if he flipped about that.

When I finally tuned back out of my thoughts, Jace was looking at me expectantly. I felt my cheeks heat up when Jace smirked.

"You didn't hear anything I just said, did you?" Thankfully, he didn't seem offended by the fact that I had clearly not been paying attention to what he was saying. I shook my head and Jace just smiled again.

"I asked a few questions actually, but mainly I was asking when you want to do this tutoring thing. I've never really tutored anybody before, so this'll be new for both of us," he said with a shrug. He didn't seem particularly concerned about it though, so I smiled too.

"Yeah. I've never been tutored before either. Well, clearly I haven't or you wouldn't have to be tutoring me." Jace chuckled and I noticed that it was a nice, warm sound.

"I guess," he said with an endearing grin. "So when do you want to get started?" I have him a sheepish smile when I realized that he'd had to ask that three times now.

"Um, whenever I guess," I said. "I'm free tonight," I said, just remembering that Seb had a family dinner tonight. It would be perfect. I wouldn't even have to tell him I was going anywhere. At least, not face to face. I was sure we'd be texting tonight, just like we always did.

Jace nodded, glancing towards the teacher's desk as he started attendance.

"Do you want to meet tonight, then? I could drive you to my place with Izzy and Alec after school and drive you home whenever," he offered.

I thought for only a moment before nodding. "Okay. I'll just let my brother know. He shouldn't mind, although, knowing him, he'll be texting me every three seconds because he's lonely." Jace's head tipped to the side slightly in curiosity.

"Your brother?"

"Jonathan," I supplied. He nodded.

"Yeah, Isabelle told me that he gave her a ride home yesterday, but..." He trailed off, clearly wanting to ask something else.

"What is it?" I asked. He opened his mouth to respond just as my name was called loudly. I jumped and looked up to see the teacher looking at me through thick lenses, his eyes hard.

"Here?" I responded questioningly. The class broke out in quiet laughter and my cheeks reddened as I smiled sheepishly at Starkweather. The last I remembered after sitting down was the teacher taking attendence.

"Yes, clearly," he snapped. For whatever reason, he hated me. Since the day I'd walked into his class, he'd treated me like I had done him wrong somehow. "It was fairly obvious you were here, as you were talking over my lecture."

I bit my lip, giving him the most apologetic look I could manage. "I'm sorry?" I tried. I knew by the harsh look on his face that I wasn't getting out of this without some kind of punishment. Usually, he sent me on a trip to the office.

"Out," Starkweather snapped, pointing to the door. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

This wasn't the first time he'd sent me out of the room. Usually, he would give me a write-up for 'insubordinate behavior' and send me to the office. By now, the principal didn't even bother to ask me anything about it when he saw is been sent there by Starkweather. He just waved me off with an eye roll.

I gathered up my things and stood up, slinging my bag over my shoulder. "Why don't I just go straight to the office?" I sighed. I smiled a farewell to a very confused looking Jace. Aline, who sat on the other side of him, leaned over and tapped him on the shoulder, probably to explain why I was being sent out of the room.

I walked down the aisle and grabbed the slip Starkweather had waiting for me before turning towards the door.

"Sir," I heard behind me as I headed for the door. I looked back to see Jace looking up at the teacher challengingly. "I was the one doing most if the talking. If you're going to send someone to the office, it can be me. I don't particularly feel like sitting through a lecture today anyway." I looked at him in disbelief as a few guys in the class hooted in amusement when Starkweather's jaw dropped.

"That's not necessary," he stammered out, clearly thrown off. I stood by the door, one hand on the handle, as he continued on. No way was I leaving before the action was done. "You're new. Clarissa has been in my class all year, she should know better." I rolled my eyes as he turned to face me sharply, opening his mouth to snap at me again.

I held a hand up in surrender, waving the slip of paper like a white flag before turning and pushing the door open. I slipped out and sighed as I began the walk to the office. I was almost around the corner when I heard a door open again. I turned back to see a smirking blonde slip from Starkweather's room.

"What did you do?" I asked Jace, exasperated. He grinned wider at me as I waited for him at the end of the hall. I noticed that he had a chipped tooth, making him appear even more endearing than he clearly already was

"I said a few things to Starkweather," he said with a nonchalant shrug. My lips turned up in a small smile.

"Things?" I asked as we both turned to turn right down the hall. He winked at me.

"Things that I will not repeat in the presence of a lady."

I snorted in amusement and his grin seemed to grow, if that was possible. "But you apparently just said those things in front of the entire class which, I hate to tell you, does include a few ladies," I reminded him.

He gave me a mocking frown. "I had them plug their ears first." I laughed.

"I could picture you doing just that," I said with a grin.

And I _could_ picture him doing it, probably with a completely serious look on his face, like he was a gentleman from the eighteen hundreds.

"So, let me get this straight," I started. "You _purposefully_ got yourself kicked out of class?" He nodded. I raised my brows at him. "Why?"

He smirked. "Well, I couldn't let you get punished for doing the same thing I was doing without getting myself punished too."

I smiled a little. "Well, thank you. But I'm not going to get punished. Starkweather is always like that to me. The principal just waves it off when he sees that Starkweather sent me."

Jace looked surprised. "Seriously? He's always like that? I thought Aline was joking." I shook my head, still smiling.

"You probably won't get in trouble either when the principal sees that you got sent with me," I assured him. He shrugged.

"I wouldn't mind either way," he said with a cheeky grin. "Maryse would be pissed but Robert would probably high-five me for defending a helpless little lady," he joked. I rolled my eyes at him but chose to ignore that he'd called me helpless and little.

"Why do you call your parents by their names?" I asked, assuming Maryse and Robert were his mom and dad. He kept looking forward, but I saw his eyes flicker to me for a second before he responded.

"They're my adopted parents." I wasn't too surprised to hear that. Jace looked nothing like his siblings, so it would be more odd if they were related than if they weren't.

"When were you adopted?" He looked at me fully, an eyebrow raised. I blushed, turning away. "Sorry. That was rude, wasn't it?"

Jace laughed, shaking his head. "No, not really. Maybe to some people, but I don't mind. I know people have questions when I saw I'm adopted. Most people just don't ask. It's not being rude, just curious," he said. I sighed in relief. I knew that Seb was sensitive about his whole family situation, and I was glad that I hadn't upset Jace by blurtign out the first thing that came to my mind.

"I was adopted by the Lightwoods when I was eleven," he answered. "I was in foster care until then."

I bit my lip, wondering if I should continue with the questions or stop. Jace noticed and smiled. "Go ahead and ask whatever you want. It's not really a sensitive subject. But I get to ask you a question for every one I answer," he said. "Sound fair?" I thought about it for a moment, not sure exactly what he was going to ask me. But I was too curious to not ask more questions. I nodded.

"Why were you in foster care?"

He seemed to have been expecting my question. "My dad got in an accident right after I was born and died. My mom killed herself when he did and I was stuck in foster care for eleven years," he said, a little grimly. He didn't seem to be too upset about it, though. It was odd. I knew my next question before he could ask his. I wanted to know why he didn't seem to care about what happened with his parents. And I also wanted to know what his life had been like in foster care.

"Why did you say you'd talk to your brother instead of your parents when I asked if you wanted to come over after school?" I frowned slightly.

"Oh. My parents aren't around often. Jon's pretty much raised me since I was thirteen," I told him.

He nodded respectfully. I was about to ask one of my next questions when I realized that we were about to reach the principal's office. I sighed and pushed the door open, receiving a blast of cold air as a welcome.

The principal, Mr. Graymark, stood by the secretary's desk, speaking to her with wild hand gestures. I smiled at him as we walked in. He was a close friend of my mother's and I spent a fair bit of time in the book store he owned. He shook his head with a tiny smile as I walked in and took the slip I held out to him.

"Starkweather...again," he sighed. His eyes flickered to Jace and he took his slip too. "Both of you in trouble for 'talking during lecture' and 'insubordinate behavior'," he stated cheerily. Jace shot me a confused look from the corners of his eyes and I grinned at him.

"Yep. Just like always," I joked. "I'm such a trouble maker." Mr. Gray mark smiled at me, the skin around his eyes crinkling. He wasn't old, but he had a lot of laugh lines. He had a good sense of humor and I got along with him well.

If Jon and I ever needed anything while our parents were away, we came to Mr. Graymark- or Luke, outside of school matters.

"True, but this is the first time you've sunk someone else down with you," Luke said, looking pointedly at Jace. I chuckled as Jace smiled cheekily.

"I was defending the lady's honor," he said, falling back into the mock-gentleman's role. Luke chuckled, pointing to me.

"I like this one," he joked. "Keep him around." Then his eyes narrowed and he looked between us closely. "Are you and Sebastian still dating?"

I nodded. "Almost seven months now," I said happily. Luke smiled.

"That's good. It's nice to see a high school relationship lasting so long." I nodded again.

"It's good to be in one too," I responded. Luke made a sound of agreement and looked up at the clock.

"Well, you two could just go ahead and wander around for the rest of the period. You both have lunch next period, right?" We both agreed and he waved us off, out of the office. As the door clicked behind us, I pulled my phone from my back pocket to check the time.

"We still have twenty minutes," I told Jace. "Do you want to wait in the courtyard with me until lunch?" I asked.

"Sure," he said with a shrug. "I'm just going to stop by my locker to dump some of my stuff first," I said, heading in the direction of it. He walked alongside me until I reached the beat up slab of metal that I, not very proudly, claimed as mine.

I leaned my knee against it a little to get it open like I always had to before pulling it open. I emptied the books out of my bag and swapped them for my second sketchbook-the one I used in art class instead of my free time. Meanwhile, I could see Jace out of the corner of my eye, looking closely at the pictures taped to the inside of the door.

"Is this your brother?" I turned to look at the picture he was pointing at and smiled. It was a picture of Jon and I from a year or two ago. We'd been at the fair and I had insisted on the two of us getting pictures with one of the horses there that they'd used in a show.

"Yeah, that's Jon," I said. "You'd get along with him, I think."

Jace backed away from the door as I swung it closed, smiling slightly. "If he's anything like his sister, I'll get along with him just fine," he said. I smiled and headed in the direction of the courtyard.

"Oh yeah, Jon and I are about as alike as two people can be. We get along well, but we do butt heads a lot."

He chuckled. "That's the opposite of Izzy and Alec and I," he said. "We're all so different, it's strange. But we get along too, and butt heads. I think all siblings do."

"Definitely," I agreed. After a pause, I grinned up at Jace. "You know, you're probably going to see a lot of Jon. He's taken a liking to your sister," I warned him. His first reaction was to frown in slight worry before his expression changed to something I couldn't read.

"I guess it's only fair," he said, almost to himself. My head tipped to the side a little in confusion.

"What do you mean?" He looked straight at me then, a crooked smile on his lips.

"It's only fair that Jon's taken a liking to my sister since I've done the same with his."

* * *

**Hope you liked it ! I apoloize for the cliffhanger, I know everyone hates them, but I couldn't think of a better way to end it and I couldn't think of a way to continue it, so this is how it ended. **

**Please, if you liked it, don't foret to review and let me know! Reviews make my day!**

**-Cassidy**


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, first off-OVER 100 reviews! Thank you guys SO much! Every review I read makes me more and more into this! You guys are so genuinely NICE and BEAUTIFUL people and your comments just make me so happy. You have no idea how awesome you all are. **

**secondly(transition words! My English teacher should be so proud of me!)-**

**Sorry this took so long! I had seriously, the opposite of writers block but I also seemed to have a huge burst of inspiration for art! of course, because I write a lot more often than I paint or draw lately, I tried to get some overdo art done :)**

**To make up for putting art over writing, I made this chapter VERY drama-filled! Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

I completely froze for a minute, my mind coming to a screeching halt. I stared at Jace like he'd grown two heads.

He didn't seem fazed, just kept walking. He looked back at where I still stood frozen with a raised brow when he realized that I had stopped.

"Are you coming?" He asked. "I really hope so, since I don't know where the courtyard is."

I suddenly felt a little nauseas as I slowly walked back up to him. Not because of what he'd said, but because of the fact that I'd forgotten about Seb for a while. I'd talked to Jace like Seb didn't exist, like he wouldn't have freaked out to see me alone in the hallways with him. No matter how much of an overreaction it might be, I should still have respected his wishes.

But I hadn't, and look where it got me. The worst part, was that a little part of me wanted him to like me.

"Jace..." I started slowly as I reached where he stood. He held a hand up with a small, rueful smile.

"No, I know. You have a boyfriend and I shouldn't have said that," he said, clearly already prepared for my reaction.

"Well you shouldn't have," I muttered. "Why did you say it if you already knew my reaction?"

Jace shrugged, looking ahead of us as we headed for the courtyard again. "To let you know that I wish we had moved here seven months ago. Then I might've had a fair shot."

I looked away again, stunned into silence for the second time. I felt awful. I needed to say something, I knew. I needed to tell him that I was with Sebastian and I was going to stay with Sebastian. But I couldn't seem to figure out a way to say it without sounding awful. And what if he wasn't serious? Then I would look like a conceited fool.

I just watched my feet as we walked silently. By the time we reached the cafeteria, we only had five minutes until the bell rang. I cut along the side of the tables, full of rowdy sophomores, to reach the door that led to the courtyard.

I pushed through the glass doors and stepped out into the cool air. I looked around to see that there was nobody else outside. I wasn't surprised. It was supposed to rain today, so any sane person would stay inside. But I loved to be outside.

For a second, breathing in the fresh air, heavy with the smell of incoming rain, I forgot everything that I was tearing myself into worried pieces over. I forgot that I wasn't supposed to be standing out here with Jace, forgot that I would have to lie to Seb about the tutoring, forgot about everything stressful. When I exhaled, everything came back and it was like a shot to the chest to realize that for those few seconds of peace to take place, I'd had to almost completely forget Seb.

I bit my lip, guilt washing over me for what had to have been the twentieth time today. I felt my phone vibrate in my back pocket and reached back to grab it, seeing a text from Sebastian. Another shot of guilt him me when I saw his name, along with the little heart that I had put in beside his name.

_'Cant make it to your lunch today babe. Sorry. Teacher's angry cuz I didn't do hw. Love you'_

I sighed. It was probably for the best if he wasn't here today. My mind was so scattered that he would know that something was wrong immediately.

I typed back a quick response before I became aware of Jace calling my name. I looked up at him quickly, my eyebrows up in surprise.

"What?" I asked. He smiled.

"The bell rang a little bit ago," he said, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder. "And it kinda looks like it's about to rain." I looked up at the sky to see that he was right.

Dark clouds were forming overhead, and yet, I felt no desire to go inside. I sighed as I turned to face Jace. I followed him inside, even though I felt more like staying outside. The fresh air seemed to brush away all the guilt I was feeling. Guilt for forgetting Sebastian, guilt for lying to him, guilt for hurting Jace. Just a crapload of guilt, really.

Students were already filing into the cafeteria when we got back inside.

"You eating inside today?" Jace asked. "Izzy and I sat at your table the past two days with Maia, but you haven't been there.

"Well I wasn't here yesterday," I reminded him, seeing Maia wave at me as she entered the already loud room.

"I know," he said. "But you ate outside on Monday. Maia said you usually eat inside with her." I shrugged as Maia walked over to us.

"Sometimes I eat outside," I said, distracted when my phone went off once again. I checked it to see another text from Seb.

_'Jon just left class. Little bastard -.-'_

The text startled a laugh from me. Before I could respond, the phone was snatched from my hands.

"Hey!" I cried, reaching for the device as Maia held it up in the air. "Not fair! You know I'm not that tall!"

"Exactly," Maia snorted. She grinned as she scrolled through something. "'Cant make it to your lunch today babe. Sorry. Teacher's angry cuz I didn't do hw. Love you'" I looked at her angrily as she read Seb and I's texts out loud. "'Aw, wish I could have seen you. Np tho, love you too'" she looked at me with a kissy face. "Aw, so sweet," she gushed sarcastically.

I scowled, snatching the phone from her as she finally lowered it. "Jerk," I muttered, stuffing the phone in my pocket while my cheeks burned. Jace was oddly silent through the whole thing.

I brushed by Maia to go sit at our usual table. She followed me and sat across from me.

"Aw, Clary, don't be mad at me," she said, jutting her lower lip out. "I was just messing around with you." I frowned at her but sighed.

"I know," I said. "I just wish you wouldn't read Seb and I's texts. Anybody else and I wouldn't care, but with Seb it's different." Her eyebrows shot up as she stared at me.

"And why is that? Is somebody sending their boyfriend naughty texts during his math class?"

"Somebody _better_ not be," said a voice over my shoulder before I could protest. "Because if somebody is, somebody's going to lose their phone. And somebody's boyfriend is going to get punched."

I coughed awkwardly as Maia began to crack up. I looked over my shoulder at Jon. "Somebody is not sending naughty texts," I said as I shot daggers to Maia. "Why would somebody send naughty texts to somebody's boyfriend when somebody knows that somebody's brother sits right next to somebody's boyfriend in his math class?" Jon looked momentarily confused.

"What? All I got from that was 'somebody send naughty texts to somebody's boyfriend'." I threw my hands up in the air.

"I'm not sexting Sebastian during math class!" I cried in exasperation.

"Well, that's good to hear." I dropped my head onto the table in resignation as Isabelle sat down next to us. Laughter circled around the table and I felt Jon slide onto the bench next to me, throwing an arm around my shoulders.

"Oh, I'm just messing with you, Clare," he said, squeezing my shoulder comfortingly.

"Piss off," I muttered, to the immense amusement of the others.

Jon, who knew that I rarely swore, was instantly concerned.

"What's wrong?" He asked, resting his hand on my back.

I sighed and lifted my head to look at him. He shifted to give me some space as I propped my head on my hand.

"I don't even know," I sighed. Maia looked at me sympathetically while Izzy shot Jace an irritated look. I was curious about that, but not enough to ask. "I think I need a nap," I finally said.

Jon ruffled my hair affectionately. "Take a nap, then. I'll keep people from doing anything mean," he promised. I shook my head. I trusted that he would do what he said, but I knew I couldn't possibly sleep in the cafeteria. It was too loud.

"It's too loud here," I told him. He looked thoughtful for a second.

"We could leave early," he offered. "Then you could sleep at home."

I sighed. "I think Seb would freak," I admitted with a frown. "He was already upset that I wasn't here yesterday." Jace raised a brow at me as I leaned my shoulder against Jon's.

"So text him and tell him you're leaving. Then he's got no reason to freak." He seemed to realize, at the same time that I did, that I couldn't go home and sleep. I had to go to his house tonight.

"I think I'm just going to go outside and sleep," I said, checking out the doors to see if it was raining. It wasn't. I stood up, and Jace gave me a curious look.

"Aren't you going to eat anything?" I shrugged it off.

"I don't feel like it," I said. For once, it was the truth about why I wasn't eating lunch. I was too tired to eat. I didn't know why I was suddenly so tired, but all I wanted was sleep, not food.

Jon stood with me and I frowned at him. He held his hands up in surrender. "I'm just going to go sit outside with you. Make sure nobody messes with you," he said, like the overprotective brother he was. I shrugged.

"Whatever," I muttered, heading outside. When I reached the doors, I checked once again to see if it was raining before stepping out. Jon followed me to one of the picnic tables that were set up and sat down across from me, breathing in deeply.

"Smells like rain," he commented. I nodded, folding my arms up on the table and resting my chin on them.

"It smells good." He nodded, looking at me seriously.

"Clary, what's going on? What's _really_ going on? I know it's more than just needing a nap. I know you," he said. "Did you and Sebastian not work things out?" I sighed, sitting up and running a hand trough my hair.

I'd always told Jon just about everything. I never kept things from him. He always seemed to find a way to make things seem better, more bearable. But I couldn't tell him what was bothering me this time.

He was Sebastian's best friend. I couldn't tell him about how guilty I felt that I'd been talking to Jace when all Seb asked was that I didn't. I couldn't tell him that I was going to have to lie to Seb about where I was and who I was with for an extended period of time. I couldn't tell him that what Jace had said had thrown me off so much more than it should have. They were best friends. If I told Jon, he would have to tell Sebastian, whether I was his little sister or not.

So I just shrugged. "We're okay now. I'm just really tired." At least that wasn't a lie. I was exhausted. I had no idea why I was so tired, but it felt like I needed a nap 24/7.

Jon looked at me skeptically before nodding. "I don't believe you, but okay." I sighed, but let it go. How could I convince him that I was telling the truth when it was a half-lie?

I rested my forehead down on my arms, letting my eyes shut. Just before I drifted off, I snapped my head back up to look at Jon, who raised a brow at me.

"Can I go to Izzy's house tonight?" I asked, taking the nickname from when Jace had called her it earlier.

"You mean Isabelle?" I nodded. "Yeah, no problem," he said with a small smile. "So you're making a pretty good friend with Isabelle?" He asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. She seems really nice. We're working on an English project together," I told him. He nodded.

"That's good. Did you let Seb know, so he doesn't freak again?" I shook my head. Thankfully, he seemed to have dropped trying to use me as a wingman for Isabelle. He seemed to be just happy that I'd made a friend.

"He's going to a family dinner tonight," I told Jon. "I'll let him know later."

"In gym?" He prompted. "I don't want you two fighting again."

I nodded, although I was kind of wary. Isabelle would be in gym. If either of the boys said anything to her about the English project she would have no idea what they meant, since it hadn't even been technically assigned yet. I would have to ask her to lie for me.

But then again, I was wary about this whole thing. I'd thought accepting tutoring from Jace was a somewhat bad idea before. And after what he'd said, I was even more apprehensive about it.

I knew all the wrong things to do, but I didn't know what the right ones were. I couldn't fail Spanish, but I knew it was wrong to be going to Jace's house against Seb's wishes, especially after what Jace had admitted.

I sighed. I didn't know why this was all such a big deal. I dropped my head back onto my arms. I was aware that Jon was saying something to me, but I was too drained to listen. It wasn't until a new voice entered the conversation that I looked up, sighing.

Jon looked at me with raised brows. I blinked at him and he sighed in irritation.

"Jace said he wanted to talk to you. I asked you if you'd be okay if I went back to math. Seb texted and said we've got a test tomorrow." I nodded quickly.

"Of course. Go review for it," I said, waving him off. I didn't want him to bomb the test because he was making sure I was alright.

He gave me one last worried look before nodding and standing up, ruffling my hair when he went by. Once he was back inside, Jace sat where Jon had been sitting across from me. I put my head back on my arms, assuming Jace was going to take watch for me now that Jon was gone.

"You know, what I said earlier, I don't think you took it quite how I meant it. I just wanted to let you know that I was interested in you. I'm not planning on trying to screw up your relationship with Sebastian, even though I don't like him all that much so far," he explained. I looked up at him to try and gauge if he was serious. He appeared to be, his golden eyes burning into mine solemnly. "I know you're with Sebastian, although I doubt I'll ever understand why, and I respect that. I just wanted you to know, if you two ever decided to break it off for whatever reason, I'm not giving him the chance to win you back. But for now, I'm okay with just being friends."

I bit my lip for a second before smiling, feeling as though a tiny weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Either he was willing to back off, or he'd been joking since the beginning and was trying to drop the joke without being rude.

"As long as it's just friends, I'm okay with it," I said. Jace grinned.

"Okay then. My first order of business, as your friend, is to tell you that your boyfriend is an asshole." He held a hand up for silence as I immediately began to object. "And I know I'm not overstepping myself because Isabelle would tell you the same thing."

"Isabelle wouldn't say that Sebastian is an-"

"She already has," Jace said, looking at me pointedly. "She told me that Sebastian treated you like shit when you fought. She said he screamed at you, made you cry, and took off like a spoiled brat."

"He had his reasons," I defended, feeling a blush come to my cheeks. I didn't really care much for my personal life to be known to everyone.

"I don't give two shits what his reasons were. I mean, for all I know, you could've done something awful to him. You could've done something cruel, like made out with his best friend-"

"His best friend is my brother," I said, raising a brow at him.

Jace grimaced. "Okay, that'd be really bad. But even if you did do that-"

"I wouldn't."

"There's still no reason that a guy should scream at someone he says he loves until she cries, then take off without doing anything to make it better." I looked at him for a moment before turning away with a sigh.

A part of me agreed that Seb shouldn't have made me cry then left, leaving me to believe he wouldn't come back. But a larger part of me knew that sometimes different circumstances made that rule impossible to follow.

I just shrugged. "We can agree to disagree," I said.

Jace sighed, but shrugged. "Okay."

After a minute of silence, Jace spoke up again. "Are we still doing that question-game-thing?" He asked.

I shrugged. "If you want to," I said with a small smile. He nodded, his tawny hair flopping into his eyes slightly. He frowned and shoved his hair back, glaring upwards at it. I laughed and he grinned at me.

"You think that's funny?" I nodded, still smiling.

He leaned closer to me and reached out suddenly, gently picking up the hair in my ponytail and twisting it until it fell in my face. I looked out at him through the wild red strands, my eyes narrowed. Somehow, he'd managed to do it so gently that it had barely even tugged, which was a shock since guys didn't usually know how to be careful with a girl's hair. I flipped my head back, making my hair fall back into place. Well, somewhat.

As I fixed my hair-the hair tie had loosened and needed to be redone-I looked at Jace patiently, waiting for his question.

"What do your parents do that causes them to be away so often?"

"They're lawyers. Like, really good lawyers. They fly all over and get paid a fortune to take people's cases." Jace raised his brows, looking surprised.

"Really?" I nodded "What firm do they work for?" I ducked my head.

"Morgenstern and Morgenstern."

My parents were well known in the way that lawyers were known. People knew them by their firm, and their last name. Occasionally, people who had been involved in some kind of court case knew them by their first names. I figured Jace would recognize the name, since he'd been around lawyers before for the adoption.

Jace grinned. "Jocelyn and Valentine," he said. I raised my brows at him, nodding.

"My parents," I confirmed. "Did they do something for your adoption?" I asked curiously. He nodded.

"Yeah. They helped the Lightwoods adopt me." His voice had a bit of an edge to it and I frowned a little. Time for a topic change.

"Jon said it's okay that I go to your house," I said. Jace nodded with a wink.

"Now you get to deal with your boyfriend," he teased with a smirk. I sighed.

"Nope. I don't have to. He's going to a family dinner tonight." Jace frowned.

"Well that's no fun." I rolled my eyes.

"I'd like to know what your definition of fun is." Jace chuckled.

"You should hear Isabelle's, if you think mine's off." I gave him a look of mock-terror. We both laughed and I sighed when I felt a drop of coldness on my arm.

"Rain," I said, grabbing my bag from beside me and placing it on my shoulder.

Jace stood too and we walked together to the doors. It started to pour just as the doors closed behind us. I smiled.

"Just in time," I said as rain pounded against the windows lining the cafeteria. Jace and I walked over to the table, where Maia sat facing away from us. Isabelle was facing us, and I saw a small smirk appear on her lips when she saw us. She leaned a little towards Maia and whispered something to her. I frowned.

"What's with that look?" Jace asked, sounding wary. She bit her lip.

"Oh, nothing," she said, waving a hand nonchalantly.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Why do I get the feeling I wouldn't like it?" I sat down across from her, Jace sitting beside me.

"Because you wouldn't," Maia snorted in amusement. I frowned.

"What is it?" Jace asked, looking at his sister seriously. Izzy grinned.

"If you must know, I just happen to think you two would make a cute couple," she said. Seeing my look, she rushed to finish her statement. "I mean, if you didn't already have a boyfriend," she added.

I rolled my eyes. "You said the same thing about Seb and I two days ago," I reminded her flatly.

She frowned. "Yeah, but that was before we started our genetics unit in science today. Now I'm aware that a blonde and redhead would make the most adorable strawberry blonde babies."

I heard Maia choking on her water bottle as my eyes widened, the blood rushing to my cheeks until my whole face felt hot.

"Isabelle!" Jace snapped, looking sharply at his sister. Isabelle just grinned, fiddling with the red stone on her necklace.

"What? It's incomplete dominance. Blonde and redhead are both recessive, so neither one would prevail," the girl recited, grinning proudly.

Jace rolled his eyes. "Is that the only thing you've picked up from science?" She frowned.

"Well, that and the fact that if Sebastian and Clary had kids, they would all turn out to have black hair. Boring, like mine," she said. Jace sighed.

"I'm telling Alec you said that." Isabelle just shrugged.

"So? He won't care. You're just trying I change the topic because you know I'm making both of you uncomfortable." Isabelle was looking at us keenly, her brown eyes calculating. Jace gave her a flat look.

"Exactly. You think if you wanted to make friends you wouldn't try and make them uncomfortable," he snapped. I saw Isabelle duck her head slightly, looking at Jace with narrowed eyes.

"I'm sorry, Clary," she said, still giving Jace a look like daggers. "My intentions were to make Jace uncomfortable. You were just collateral damage." I chuckled despite myself. Isabelle and Jace reminded me of myself and Jon.

"So," I started, waiting until Isabelle finally abandoned the dirty look she was giving Jace to look at me. "I may need you to lie to Seb for me," I said, seeing her eyes widen. I hurried to finish. "Just a little bit," I promised. "It's just that Jace is supposed to be tutoring me in Spanish tonight but Seb and Jace don't exactly get along-"

"He's an asshole," Jace cut in. I rolled my eyes.

"And I don't want to tell him that I'm going to your house to see Jace because he'll flip. So I told Jon, and I'm going to tell Seb, that I'm going to your house to work on the English project that's going to be assigned at the end of the romance unit."

Maia whistled lowly. "Wow, girl. Lying to your boyfriend," she hooted with a grin. "I never thought I'd see the day."

Isabelle just frowned a little at me. "But the project hasn't even been assigned yet. Why would we-oh." Her cheeks flushed a rosy color and she smiled sheepishly. "Okay I understand now." I chuckled while Jace rolled his eyes at his sister.

"Wow, Izzy. I guess Alec was the one who was really adopted," Jace said. We all looked at him in confusion.

"What are you getting on about?" Isabelle snapped.

"Well, clearly _I'm_ blonde, _you_ act blonde, Alec is the only one whose _not_ blonde."

Isabelle, quick as a flash, had picked up a fry from her lunch tray and thrown it at her brother. Jace stared disdainfully at the mushy piece of food as it bounced off his chest and landed in front of him on the table. I was chuckling, my head resting on my palm, when I heard a voice speak up behind me that made my eyes widen.

"Clary." Jace turned to look at the newcomer, his joking smile gone. Izzy frowned and Maia smirked slightly as I froze where I sat.

"Ooh," she teased. "Someone's in trouble."

I finally turned in my seat, being careful not to brush up against Jace or Maia.

"Seb. I thought you had to stay in math today," I said lamely.

Sebastian gave me a grin and I had to resist the urge to flinch from it. Nobody else seemed to realize anything off about it, but I could see below the seemingly good-natured look. The smile had a sharp edge to it, a dangerous look that promised that, although he might not make a scene right here, there was going to be hell to pay later. I felt a stinging in the backs of my eyes, barely processing it when my boyfriend asked Jace, fairly politely, to move over so he could sit next to me.

Jace looke worried, but said nothing. He slid along the bench to make room for Seb.

As soon as he'd sat down, he slung an arm over my shoulder, kissing me on the cheek. Any other time, I'd be delighted to have him show up at my lunch and start being oddly affectionate. But I knew, I could feel the anger coiled up under his skin, barely contained by his calm demeanor. I knew that he could blow up any second.

"Jon told me that you weren't feeling good, so I asked the teacher to use the bathroom." Izzy snorted in amusement.

"I get the feeling that the teachers here really don't care where their students are." I smiled back at her, trying not to show how much effort it took.

"They don't. You could be 'in the bathroom' for the whole period and they wouldn't even care." Seb's arm tightened fractionally around my waist.

"Speaking of missing classes, I heard from Aline that you got in some trouble with this one in Starkweather's class," Sebastian said conversationally as he gestured to Jace with a nod of his head.

I nodded, feeling my hands shake slightly. Everything that I had wished wouldn't happen was happening. I should've known better than to think it wouldn't. This school was too small for everything not to get back to Seb.

"Yeah," I said, stuffing my hands down under my legs to hold them still. I sighed. Might as well take the dive and tell him now, instead of waiting until gym. "But his sister is going to be working on an English project with me, so he'll pay for getting me in trouble when I have to go to their house," I joked, smiling shakily at Jace. He didn't smile back, his keen eyes flickering between Seb and I.

Sebastian had tensed, almost frozen. His hand was gripping my hip bone tightly and I shifted my weight, trying to get him to release it. He didn't. "Seb," I started. The look he gave me silenced me immediately. I looked at him worriedly as his dark eyes seared into mine, so much anger burning in their depths that I could barely discern his pupils from his irises.

"That's great. Get him good, then," he said, smiling suddenly. Everyone else seemed at ease and I realized that I was the only one who had noticed the furious look he'd sported for a moment.

"Of course, you know me. I'm great at getting people back," I responded, my voice quiet as I looked down at where Seb's fingers had tangled with mine. His fingers tightened on both my hand and my hip and I winced ever so slightly. Sebastian nodded, his face twisted into an easygoing smile.

"Well, you should have plenty of time to do it," he said with a teasing smirk. I smiled faintly.

"Yeah."

Maia smiled at us and held her phone up, camera facing us. I smiled at her with raised brows.

"Why are you taking a picture of us?" I asked. She smiled.

"Sending it it Jordan. He's been texting all through his history class. Wanted to see who else was at lunch." Sebastian rested his chin on my shoulder as the phone made a clicking sound of the camera going off.

Maia showed us the picture quickly and I smiled. "Send that to me too," I said, loving the way Seb looked with his arms around me, his face split into a cheerful grin. She nodded and a moment later, my phone beeped with an incoming message.

I quickly saved the picture, my fingers shaking as Sebastian spoke confidently. His charisma, like always, diverted the attention to him and away from me. He was a natural charmer, just like my brother.

Nobody else could see the fury in every line of his face, in every seemingly harmless word he uttered. Nobody else saw him like I did. Nobody but me was looking at him in fear, afraid for the explosion I knew would be coming as soon as the two of us were alone.

I could only picture how everyone would react had I voice my thoughts. Disbelief. They would call me crazy. I was beginning to call myself crazy, the longer lunch dragged on.

Seb hadn't showed any signs of anger, except maybe some tension. I felt guilt flood me, rushing through me like it had become a permanent fixture in my veins. I was sitting here acting like my boyfriend was a villain for no reason. I leaned more into him, relaxing my strained posture. He leaned over to kiss my forehead as Maia spoke about something Jordan had done the other night.

"You understand why I'm upset, right?" Seb asked me in a whisper while everyone's eyes were on Maia. I nodded slightly, my chest constricting as though the guilt was wrapping around my heart like a python.

"I'm sorry," I whispered back. "But Isabelle and I both needed a partner." Sebastian frowned at me as I looked up at him.

"I don't want you over at the Lightwoods'." My brows knitted together.

"What about the project," I argued. He shrugged.

"Do it at your house," he said. I didn't mean to raise my voice, but my next words came out louder than the whisper we'd been speaking at.

His attitude and my own guilty feelings were driving me crazy. And I was starting to get pissed. There was no reason for him to act like a spoiled child.

"Why? Because we can't always be at my house, Seb. It's just not plausible. And, you know, it's not like I picked Isabelle as my partner because I wanted to piss you off," I snapped. "I picked Isabelle because she's my friend. And if you don't respect me enough to be okay with that, then you can just go screw yourself until you get over it." I stood up quickly, ripping myself away from Seb's grip. "And obviously, the only reason you're throwing a fit about this is because you don't trust me! It's not like I'm going to be working with Isabelle so I can screw her brothers," I cried finally, breathing heavily. As I spun away from the table and stormed towards the exit, my feet echoed across the tiles. Only then did I notice that I'd managed to gather the entire cafeteria's attention. I ducked my head as I sped up, trying to reach the doors quicker, feeling like all the eyes on me were burning into my skin.

"Clary!" I ignored Seb as I rushed to get from the room.

My words had been spurred on by the angry and contrite feelings that had built up in me, not to mention a little fear. I wasn't afraid of Sebastian exactly, but I knew that he was capable of ending what we had, and I was afraid that if he had the chance, he would. He made me happy, made me feel like I was loved. I didn't want to lose that.

I'd made a mistake again, upset him again. And I was afraid that he was going to abandon me. So I'd twisted everything, shoved it on him and acted like it was his fault. I knew it wasn't right, it wasn't fair. And I knew that everyone was going to blame him. How could they not blame him after the scene I'd just made?

I threw myself against the doors and let them fall shut behind me. I hurried down the halls, hoping that the bell would ring and save me from having to face Sebastian.

My eyes stung with a mixture of shame and fear. It was a feeling I was beginning to get used to.

"Clary." The voice came from right behind me now. A hand dropped onto my shoulder and I pulled away from it, spinning around and tangling a hand into my hair nervously.

I let out a surprised breath when I was faced with Jace's golden eyes instead of Seb's dark ones.

"Jace?" I was confused. "Seb didn't follow me?"

He shook his head, looking somber. "No. He said that if you wanted to act like a child, you could act like one alone. If he didn't hate me before, he does now that I followed you." I let out a shaky sigh.

A part of me was glad. I didn't want to have to confront Sebastian right now. But there was another part of me that wanted him to have followed me. It reminded me of when I was a child.

I would get in trouble and my dad would yell at me and punish me. When I started crying, I would run off and hide my room. Usually I sat at the bottom of my closet, half hidden by the dresses and coats my mother had hung up neatly. I hid there and dreaded when my father would come up. But at the same time, I'd always hid in the same place for a reason. I'd wanted him to come up and apologize, hold me until I stopped crying.

When someone cries, they want to be comforted, even if they think they want to be alone. And hearing what Sebastian had said, it hurt. Did he care that little?

"Hey," Jace said softly, reaching out to rest a warm hand on my shoulder. "Don't cry."

I swiped hastily at my eyes. I hadn't realized I was crying. I hadn't intended to either. I expected Jace to say something else to try and calm me, maybe give me a hug I would have to refuse based on the grounds that I had just fought with my boyfriend over him-even though my boyfriend didn't know that. But he didn't. Instead, he leaned against the lockers beside us, looking away from me as I tried to force myself to get under control.

"You cry a lot," he observed, watching me with careful eyes. I let out a bark of sharp laughter.

"You're not supposed to say stuff like that to a girl," I joked half-heatedly. I looked down at my feet. "And I don't usually. And you've only seen me cry once now," I argued. He shook his head.

"I've seen you now, and I saw you crying the first time I met you. Or, you were almost crying. Your eyes were red and watery. And Izzy said you cried when she was at your house." I shrugged.

"You've caught me in a couple bad times. I don't usually cry so much, I promise. I know how much guys hate waterworks." Jace raised a brow.

"Did Sebastian tell you that?" He asked, sounding angry. I frowned at him.

"No. Well, yeah he's said it before, but I've heard from everyone how much guys hate crying. Jordan, Maia's boyfriend, is the same."

Jace shrugged. "Not all guys freak when a girl cries. I've been living with Iz for seven years. I can handle crying," he said with a small smile.

I chuckled. "So Izzy cries a lot, then?" Jace nodded, looking at me a little skeptically.

"Can we do that question-for-a-question thing again?" He asked quietly. I bit my lip. I really didn't want to. I knew that he was going to ask something about Sebastian. And I knew I probably wouldn't want to answer. Seeing my indecision, Jace shrugged. "How about I ask my question, and you decide if you want to answer it." I laughed shortly.

"Isn't that how most people ask questions?" His lips quirked up in a smile.

"Yeah, but there's no obligation here. You don't have to answer if you don't want to." I sighed, but nodded.

"Why were you crying the first time I saw you?" I looked down at the ground, shaking my head.

"I don't want to answer it," I said with a frown.

It apparently told Jace all he needed to know. "Okay," he said, his voice shaking a little with anger. "Then just tell me this: was it because of Sebastian?" My silence was his answer. His jaw was clenched as he crossed his arms over his chest. He looked at me one more time. "I can't-"

"Clary! Are you okay?" I looked over Jace's shoulder to see Maia and Izzy both speeding towards us.

I nodded quickly. "Yeah. I'm fine," I assured them. "We've fought before, I can handle it."

Isabelle looked carefully at Jace.

"Are _you_ okay?" She asked him, a perfectly waxed brow raising. Jace frowned.

"I'm fine. I'm not the one whose got a boyfriend that treats her like a child." I scowled at him while Isabelle rolled her eyes.

"I should hope not. I thought Alec was the gay one?" Jace scowled playfully at her.

"There's a lot you don't know about me," he said. I raised my brows.

"Well," I said with a tiny smile. "Maybe if you told Seb that both you and your brother are gay, he'd calm down," I joked. Jace rolled his eyes.

"I think then he might start accusing you of sleeping with Izzy," he responded. "He'd reason that if Alec and I are both gay, Izzy's gotta be too. Then he wouldn't let you come over to our house because of _her."_

Izzy winked at me and gave me a flirty wave. "Come here often?"

We all cracked up, and some of the tightness that had formed around my chest loosened.

I sighed happily as Jace made a crack to Isabelle about how now _he_ would have to lie to Sebastian for me to be able to go over to their house was nice, how they jumped so quickly to include me and make me feel better.

We all stayed out in the hallway, talking, until a teacher yelled at us and asked us for our passes. We managed to scrape by without trouble by saying we would go straight back to lunch. Instead, we went to the library and continued to talk until the end of the period.

By the time lunch had ended, I'd completely forgotten about the argument Seb and I had gotten in. But I guess it's hard to forget something like that completely. Especially since my next class, gym, was with Sebastian.

**A Whew! Almost 7000 words! Hope you enjoyed all the drama! I thought I was doing a pretty good job of putting Clary through hell until I saw all the reviews asking for MORE hell!- I can't blame you though, because I would be the same way if I were you. It seems that Clary may need just a little _push_ from our lovely Sebby to send her over the edge and make her notice that she's not being treated right. _  
_**

**What do you guys think? we already saw a bit of her snap in this chapter. How far do you think Seb will be able to push her until she completely turns on him? **

**Just one one more question: do you guys think everything is happening til fast? Or maybe too slow? I feel like I'm rushing it but I'm not sure so id like to hear how you feel :)**

**Dont forget to review if you like it!**

**-Cassidy **


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello :)**

**I just wanted to say thank you :) I got 34 reviews! In just two days!**

** That may or may not have been why the update was so quick :) but seriously, this chapter was so fun to write :D there's some Clary-Jonathan brother-sister bonding stuff, some Clary and Sebastian-which I surprisingly had a few people asking for. Since I already planned to write it at some point, here it is :)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Isabelle and Jace and I headed for gym, parting ways with Maia, who had science this period.

Seb and I's fight was still replaying in the back of my mind. I hadn't forgotten that, but I had forgotten that he was in this class until I walked into the gym and saw his form step into the guys' locker room. Jace split off from us to follow him, and Izzy clapped a hand on his arm firmly.

"Don't do anything stupid, Jace," she warned him. He frowned.

"I'm not. I can't exactly get changed in the girls' locker room now, can I?"

I chuckled. "I think that's a determination you have to make," I told him with a smirk. He winked back at me.

"You wanna help me make it?"

My cheeks flushed to precisely the color of my hair and Jace grinned before turning and heading for the locker room. Izzy was trying to keep in laughter as we stepped into the girls' changing rooms.

"Never try to make inappropriate jokes with Jace. He'll always make one ten times worse. He's the king of innuendos," Izzy advised me.

I rolled my eyes as I put my combination in. Since we had gym only every other day, Izzy's stuff was still in my locker.

We got changed quickly and walked back out into the gym. A lot of the guys and a few of the other girls were already out. Out of instinct, I looked around for Seb and Jon. I didn't see them and frowned. I looked to Izzy with a frown when I noticed that Jace still wasn't out either.

"I really hope Jace didn't start something," Isabelle said, voicing my exact thoughts.

"If he did, I'm slapping him. I'm warning you now." Isabelle nodded.

"I'll understand." We watched the locker room door nervously from across the gym, waiting to see if one of the boys were going to come out with a black eye.

To my shock, Jace and Jon came out together. Jon was saying something to Jace in a low voice and Jace nodded in response. He said something back to my brother before they both seemed to notice that they were being watched.

Jon shot me a worried look from across the gym and hurried over, Jace right beside him.

"What the hell happened at lunch, Clary? Everyone's talking about how you just flipped and started yelling at Sebastian." I frowned a little.

I hated when everybody was talking about me. I hadn't realized it before, but now I could see how people were being very careful to _not_ look at me. They gave me side-looks and whispered to their friends, but never looked at me directly.

Way to be discreet, everyone.

"He wasn't very happy when I told him I was going to the Lightwoods' house," I said with a sigh. Jon frowned.

"I heard that you were the one yelling," he said, his brows furrowed. I groaned.

"Yeah, well, I was already in a bad mood and he kept pressing me about the stupid project. So I snapped a little," I said, looking over Jon's shoulder nervously as Sebastian exited the locker room.

Jon sighed. "You seem to be fighting a lot lately," he said, gesturing to Seb as he headed towards us. I sighed.

"Suddenly, it seems like there's a lot to fight about," I muttered. Jon gave me a worried look but didn't say anything as Sebastian approached.

"Can I talk to you, Clary?" He asked, a bit of an edge to his voice. I immediately nodded.

I knew we needed to talk things over, even though I really didn't want to face him right now.

He reached for my hand and started to pull me away from the little group, just as the teacher blew her whistle.

"Pick your partners! Boy-girl combos, were co-ed today!" I continued to hold Seb's hand, looking at the teacher for further instruction as our classmates scrambled to group with their friends.

I saw Jace and Izzy partner together while Jon paired with a girl that was in a few of his classes.

"We're running the track today." Groans followed Mrs. Mortmain's announcement. "Out," she ordered, pointing to the doors. I sighed as Seb and I followed Isabelle and Jace out.

"What was that about at lunch?" Sebastian asked me, his voice low. "We were just talking and then, out of nowhere, you were shouting at me."

I gave the tiled floors a withering look. "I was in a bad mood," I said honestly. "I didn't really feel good, and you kept telling me what I wasn't allowed to do without even giving me a reason why."

He looked at me incredulously.

"Do you seriously not understand why I don't want you going to the Lightwoods'?" he asked. I shrugged.

"The only thing I've come up with is that you don't trust me, so you're worried that if I go to their house, I'll cheat on you. Which is complete crap, by the way."

I could see Izzy turn her head slightly, alerting me to the fact that I'd raised my voice again. I lowered it before continuing. "When have I _ever_ given you the idea that I was going to cheat on you?" Sebastian sighed, running a hand through his hair and watching the grass as we walked across the lawn towards the track.

"You haven't," he responded, his voice solemn. "It's just me being an idiot. I feel like the second I turn my back, you're going to leave me."

I was torn between anger and sadness as I processed the words.

"That's called distrust, Seb," I whispered. "I don't see why you can't just trust me. I've never done anything to make you think I'd leave you or cheat on you. And it makes me mad that you think I would."

"Clary," Sebastian said softly. I turned to look at him, surprised by the gentleness his tone held. His eyes were steady on mine and we stopped in our tracks. "You need to know that you're one of the most important things in my life. Of course, I get a little worried about stuff like this. I don't know what I'd do without you."

I stared at him in shock for a minute, fumbling around in my chaotic mind for something to say. Sebastian was never someone who was good with words, so this little speech was like a small miracle. Before I could get anything out, a shrill whistle sliced through the air, making me jump.

I looked towards the direction of the sound and saw the gym teacher-and our entire gym class-stating at us. Some students were rolling their eyes while others laughed. Clearly, they'd been waiting for us. My cheeks blushed as Seb laughed.

"Morgenstern! Verlac! Get up here and stop flirting in my class!" I rushed the rest of the way to the track. Isabelle was laughing when we reached the others and students were giving us wolf whistles.

It all stopped when the teacher demanded that we begin running our three laps-almost 3/4 of a mile-around the track. We started jogging, and I was immediately ready to stop. I _hated_ running. With a passion. And, not only did I hate it, but I was bad at it. And the worst part-Sebastian is an amazing runner.

I made a mental note to never partner up with him in gym again.

Seb, naturally, tried to keep me running the whole time. He was good at motivating, and somehow I managed to jog with him for the whole three laps. I knew that he'd slowed down a lot from his usual lace, too.

Of course, I could barely breath by the end of the laps. I braced my hands on my knees, every breath in it out burning my lungs and throat.

"How," I gasped out as Seb rested a hand comfortingly on my back, "do you do that, and make it look easy?" Sebastian grinned at me as I stood up straight again.

"Practice. If you ran more, you could do it easy." I grinned at him.

"You know my rules. I run in two situations: one, when I'm forced in gym, and two, when I'm being chased." Sebastian laughed and leaned towards me, wrapping me in his arms and pressing a kiss to my forehead.

"I love you," he stated, kissing my cheek now. I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"I love you too," I said. "But you missed my mouth," I joked, pointing to my lips. He laughed again before lowering his lips to mine.

"I see you two made up." I jumped when a voice spoke up from behind me. I turned to see Jon looking at us in amusement.

I grinned. "Yep," I said happily.

"Until next week," Jon joked. I rolled my eyes.

"Free period for the rest of class. Do whatever you want," the teacher called, walking over to the stands that were on the edge of the track. She leaned back, putting a pair of sunglasses on.

"Great teaching skills," I said with a laugh. Sebastian shrugged, wrapping an arm around my waist.

"Hey, just means she can't yell at us again," he said. Jon smirked.

"Oh, but I found that hilarious. Especially Clary's reaction." I scowled at him and he just laughed.

"Hey, Jon!" I heard someone call. Jon gave us a short wave before turning to walk over to a group of guys from his grade. I turned back to Seb, looking up at him with a smile.

"So your aunt still hates me?" I asked, remembering the family dinner tonight.

He'd invited me to one before, but after how his aunt had reacted to me, he hadn't invited me to another one. He frowned a little.

"She doesn't hate _just_ you. She hates everyone." He scowled a little. "She's so neurotic it's not even funny. Especially lately, now that I'm getting closer to finishing high school." I smiled at him.

"Oh, how bad can it be?" He gave me an incredulous look.

"Last night she told me that I needed to find a nice girl to marry before I was 'out of my prime'." I immediately began to laugh, and Seb rolled his eyes. "She's freaking _crazy_."

"Well, you know men are considered in their prime from around 17-20. You've only got two years left," I teased, remembering the fact from health class last year. Sebastian winked at me.

"And when exactly are females in their prime?" I shrugged.

"I know it's later than men. I've got plenty of time," I said with a smirk. Sebastian rolled his eyes with a smile.

"Of course you would be concerned about knowing when the opposite sex is in their prime but not your o-" he was cut off as shouts suddenly broke out from the group of guys Jon had walked over to. I turned to see what was going on and gasped.

I rushed over, seeing a brunette boy with darkly tanned skin on the ground, Jon standing over him.

"Jon!" I shouted. He turned to face me, his face a mask of rage. Some of his anger faded away when he saw me. I caught a glimpse of something red and saw that his knuckles on his left hand were split open, while the boy, who I now recognized as Raphael-a boy in my science class-clutched at his nose, blood seeping from his fingers. He cursed at my brother, who just glared down at him.

People backed away as I rushed forward. "What happened?" I asked worriedly, as I saw the gym teacher sit up from her place on the bleachers. Jon scowled down at Raphael as he struggled to his feet.

"Your dickhead of a brother punched him," a guy from behind him spoke up. "He's as fucking crazy as you are."

Jon's fists clenched at his sides and he stepped forward threateningly. Raphael and the other boy, Zeke, stepped back warily. "Insult my sister again," he said, his voice deadly. "I _dare_ you. I'll snap your nose too, asshole," he threatened, his voice almost a snarl. I looked on with wide eyes before snapping into movement, placing a hand in his arm.

"Jon," I said quietly. "It's okay. And besides that, I don't really think you can snap somebody's nose. It doesn't quite sound physically possible." A bit of the anger disappeared, a small smile taking its place. He sighed, running a hand through his hair as I tugged him away from The group of teenage boys.

"What is going on here?" The teacher's voice cut through, about ten minutes too late. Jon sighed again.

"I punched the asshole," he admitted, gesturing vaguely in Raphael's direction. I looked at the teacher sharply as she scowled at Jon and I.

Mrs. Mortmain was perhaps one of the nastiest teachers in the school. Jon couldn't have possibly picked a worse class to have a fight in.

"You Morgensterns seem to be causing a lot of trouble today," se snapped.

"Because they're all fucking crazy!" Raphael shouted, his voice nasally from where he held his nose. I glared at him.

"They both need to be on meds," Zeke added, looking fairly proud of himself.

"Watch it," I snarled. I didn't care if they insulted me, but they weren't going to insult my brother, or my entire family, while I sat here watching. "Unless you want a crooked nose to match the other asshole, you should really shut you mouth." I heard a few laughs and whistles from the class, who'd gathered around to watch the fight. Zeke sneered at me. Oh, how I wanted to break his nose.

He stepped tauntingly closer. "Oh, is the little girl gonna sic her big brother on me? I know for a fact that you couldn't hurt me. So keep on hiding behind your brother, Morgenstern. He won't be around to protect you forever," he taunted, smirking at me with the hint of a threat.

"Shut the fuck up. Don't you talk to my sister like that," Jon snarled at him.

Zeke looked at Jon disdainfully, as though he was a piece of dirt. "You know, it's illegal to fuck your sister in the state of-"

He was cut off as my arm flew forward, my fist colliding with his nose with a sharp crack. I grimaced as he stumbled back, a hand flying to his nose and his eyes wide. He hadn't expected me to actually hit him. Neither had I. And now my hand hurt.

I glowered at him as he held his nose in shock. I could tell that I hadn't hit him as hard as Jon had hit Raphael, but when he pulled his hand away there was some blood dripping from his nose. As the adrenaline from the punch began to fade, I started to wonder whether I'd hurt myself more than him.

"Clarissa Morgenstern!" Mrs. Mortmain shouted sharply. "And Jonathan. To the office NOW!" I looked at her in disbelief.

"Did you not just hear what he said to Jon?" I cried, gesturing between the two boys with my left hand-since my right hand was beginning to ache fiercely.

I felt a hand land on my shoulder. "Mrs. Mortmain," I heard Seb say from behind me. "Clearly, Raphael and Zeke started this. They were asking for-"

"They may have instigated it, but did either of them throw a punch?" I sighed, knowing it was a lost cause. I gave Seb a small smile over my shoulder.

"It's fine, Seb. Jon and I threw the punches, we can deal with our punishment. It was worth it." I spat the last part in Zeke and Raphael's direction.

"To the office," the teacher snapped once again, pointing towards the school.

I looked at Jon once before tugging on his arm. He shot the two boys-with matching bloody noses-a sneer as we passed them, slamming his shoulder against Raphael's.

We didn't say anything for a while as we both walked towards the school. I could practically feel the anger radiating off of Jon. I looked at him worriedly, bumping his shoulder with mine.

Jon gave me a small frown and I thought he was going to be angry that I had hit someone. He opened his mouth and I waited for the lecture.

"I need to teach you how to punch," he said instead.

I looked at him in surprise and he raised a brow. "What, you thought I was going to be mad at you? For doing the same thing I'd already done? Hell no. I won't say the same for Mom and Dad though," he said with a sigh.

I groaned. "They're gonna kill us." Jon nodded a little, then grinned at me.

"Well, they'll kill YOU. I know how to punch to defend myself." I looked at him with wide eyes.

"What, you'll defend me from nasty comments but not my death?" Jon chuckled.

"As soon as we're at home, it's every man for himself." I gave him a mock pout.

"But I'm not a man." Jon laughed and slung an arm around my shoulders, bringing me into his side as I grinned.

"Okay, fine. I wouldn't even let Mom and Dad hurt you." I grinned at him.

"Thanks, Jonny," I said. Jon just chuckled with an eye roll.

"No problem, Clare-bear," he said back, his voice sickly sweet. I grimaced.

"Ugh. You haven't called me that since I punched you for it when I was eight." He laughed again.

"Yeah, and you sucked at throwing a punch then, too." I laughed with him. We lapsed into silence as we approached the school.

"Jon?" I said just before we stepped onto to pavement around the building.

"Yeah?"

"I think I broke my hand." Jon looked at me blankly for a minute, then started to laugh again.

"I _really_ need to teach you how to punch."

As it turns out, when you hurt yourself hitting someone, adults aren't really very sympathetic.

Instead of letting me go to the nurse-as Jon fought and lost for me to do-I was forced to stay in the office and get lectured. Jon and I were lectured at one time, at least.

We entertained ourselves throughout our scolding by seeing how many times and how often we could kick each other in the shin under the desk until Mr. Graymark looked suspicious.

We stopped after Jon kicked me a little harder than intended and I flinched, prompting Luke to ask what was wrong. I told him I hit my hand on the chair. Jon tapped me in the shin one more time as an apology and then Luke started to ask us things. We'd waited all through his lecture about how what we did was wrong, and that we should never respond with violence, blah blah blah. The part where he told us he'd be calling our parents as soon as we left scared me a bit. Honestly, I was terrified. Our parents would probably put us in that 'scared-straight' program that was all over TV lately. And man would I look awful in orange.

"What would even prompt you to hit somebody? I know for a fact that your parents wouldn't approve. Especially you, Clary. What were you two thinking?" I sighed as Jon glared harshly at the ground. I was a little surprised that there weren't burn holes in the carpet yet.

"He insulted Clary. I wasn't just going to let him get away with it," he bit out. I almost snapped at him that I could handle myself before I realized that I had punched Zeke for the same reason.

Luke sighed deeply, a sigh that made me think he was disappointed in the whole world at this point. "What about you?" He asked, turning to me. I shrugged.

"He insulted Jon," I said simply.

Luke looked at both of us for a minute before looking up at the ceiling and muttering something under his breath, as though praying for patience-although I knew that he wasn't religious. After a moment, he looked back at us, running a hand down his face.

"You two are most definitely Morgensterns." I grinned.

"Thanks," I said, at the same time that Jon did. We looked at each other and laughed. I looked back at Luke just in time to see him force the smile from his face.

"I just don't understand, I guess. What could both of them have possibly said that was _so_ bad that both of you punched someone. I mean, I know you two so well and neither one of you are violent. What could have possibly been so bad to prompt you both into hitting someone?" He knew about our tempers though, so I wondered a little why he was so surprised.

Jon and I both had short tempers, especially when it came to people talking bad about our family.

I scowled at the ground, not saying anything. Jon didn't either and Luke sighed in aggravation. "One of you are going to have to tell me. If it was bad enough, I might be able to lessen your punishment." I looked at Jon, who shook his head with a clenched jaw. He wasn't saying anything. I sighed. It was up to me then.

"I don't know what he said to Jon before I got there, but in front of me he said that 'all Morgensterns are crazy' and that Jon and I both need to be on meds-which doesn't even make sense since I hadn't even said or done anything yet-" I cut myself off as Jon made a small, angry noise in the back of his throat. I narrowed my eyes at him. "You know why he said that," I accused. "It was because of what he said before I got there, wasn't it?" He looked away, a guilty look in his eyes.

"You don't need to hear what he said about you," he said, his voice brimming with a mixture of emotions. He sounded angry, sad, guilty, and disgusted all at once.

I looked at him angrily. "Whatever he said, he said it about me. I deserve to know what it was," I snapped. Jon sighed, turning to look at me again. I felt my eyes widen when I saw how angry his eyes were. It was like there were green flames leaping in them.

"Fine. But you wanted to know." Suddenly, I wasn't sure I did want to know. If it was bad enough to make Jon this upset, I wasn't sure how I'd react. "He called me over during gym," he started. I nodded.

"I remember." He swallowed, taking a deep breath before continuing.

"He asked me if I'd forgotten to make my sister take her meds this morning." My hands immediately formed fists and I winced at the pain in my right one. But I didn't understand how that was bad enough to make Jon _this_ angry.

"Why did he say that?" I asked angrily. Jon sighed.

"Because of your fight with Sebastian today. He was in the cafeteria and he saw you yelling and-"

"And he assumed I'd just snapped on him," I said with a sigh. Jon nodded

"But not a lot of other people think that," he hurried to say. I let out a deep breath.

"That's still not bad enough to make you this upset. What else did he say?" Jon's jaw clenched.

"It was a little bit later. He'd been rambling about you and Seb. He said that if you two were broken up, then he'd like to know which corner he could find you on," he snapped, his face a mask of rage as he clutched the arms of his chair like it was the only thing keeping him from finding Raphael and killing him.

I stood up quickly, knocking the chair back a few inches.

"I'm going to kill him," I snarled, turning towards the door.

"Clary!" Luke called after me. I kept going. "Clarissa Adele Morgenstern!" He finally shouted. I stopped at hearing my full name, trembling with fury. I spun around on Luke in a blind rage.

"That moron called me a prostitute!" I shrieked. I saw Jon and Luke both wince. "Tell me again how wrong it is to hit someone?" I cried. "Especially after what he moved on to say later!"

"What did he say after you got there?" Luke asked, looking angry himself. Luke may act all professional, but I knew that someone insulting Jon and I was like someone insulting his own kids.

"After he told us that all Morgensterns are crazy and that Jon and I need to be on meds?" I snapped. Luke nodded, but I was shaking to much, my mind too muddled with anger to properly respond. I just turned and began to pace across the room. Jon continued for me.

"Then, when Clary told him to shut his mouth, he said that I wouldn't be there to protect her forever-he basically _threatened_ her, Luke," he said, his voice tipping towards hysteria. Noticing how upset he was, I walked over to him and sat down beside him again.

"It's okay," I told him, my own anger dissipating like it'd never even happened. I rested a hand on his shoulder, trying to sooth him. His eyes were shimmering, and he was swallowing rapidly, as though trying to choke back years. "Jon," I said to get his attention. "He's not going to do anything. It's just talk," I assured him. He looked at me for a moment before nodding, running a hand through his hair and letting out a shaky breath.

I hadn't realized how much Raphael and Zeke's words had gotten to him.

Luke sighed from behind his desk. "I hate to ask, but did he say anything else?" I sighed and Jon just ran a hand down his face.

"Other than accusing us of screwing each other? No, nothing at all," Jon spat. Luke winced while I shuddered in disgust.

"He's an asshole," Luke said, surprising us both.

"Luke!" I laughed out. "Are you supposed to say stuff like that?" Luke just put a finger to his lips, smiling.

"I can say what I want as long as nobody else hears it," he joked. Jon and I laughed again.

"Well, you know what they say," Jon started. "'It's only illegal if you get caught'." I wasn't surprised at all. That had been Jon's favorite saying since he heard it two years ago.

We laughed for a while, then lapsed into silence. Finally, I broke it. "Luke?"

"Hm?"

"Can I go to the nurse now? I seriously think I broke my hand."

**Hello again :) **

**I just have a curious little question for you guys-not that you have to answer but I think it'd be fun :)**

**So, I post a lot of my chapters at somewhere around midnight-one in the morning. And usually, by the time I wake up, there're quite a few reviews already. It makes me wonder if the people reading an reviewing are from all over the world. **

**So, if you'd like to, in your review just say what country you're from. (I swear I'm just super curious, I'm not going to find you and kill you or anything). **

**And I know I could go onto my story's stats and see, but I don't think that'd be as much fun, and I wouldn't get to see where the reviewers especially are from. **

**Thank you :) **

**-Cassidy ❤️**


	8. Chapter 8

**There may or may not-who am I kidding, there will be, a teensy spoiler hidden-ok really not hidden but it's there-in my author note at the bottom for the next chapter :) this chapter definitely isn't my best. It's kinda boring and super chopped up but I think you'll all be super excited for the chapter after this one ;) and a little something that happens in said chapter. **

**Aaaaaaaaanyway, it was awesome to see so many people from so many countries reviewing! Just to make it fair, I live in New York, USA. Not the city, just the state ;)**

**Just a heads up-I'm not a doctor (shocker, I know!). I do not know if my explanations would actually be possible or anything. I have broken three bones, but I don't think that qualifies me to know enough to make a proper medical diagnosis, so here's my best shot :)**

It turns out that I didn't break my hand, but I did sprain my wrist. How in the world I managed to sprain my wrist from throwing a punch, I don't think I'll ever understand.

The nurse had Jon drive me to the ER. Because apparently when you break bones, it's an emergency. Of course, she had no idea if it was really broken. She's just a school nurse. She's pretty much qualified to give out ice packs.

We were waiting for probably half an hour before my name was called. During that time, I attempted to send a text to Sebastian to let him know where we were. But considering I had hurt my dominant hand, what I managed to type out was unreadable. Jon ended up typing the text out for me to send.

The rest of the time, Jon and I talked quietly. I wasn't too freaked out. I'd never broken anything, but Jon had broken his leg once when he fell out if a tree. I hadn't been in the ER with him, though so I wasn't sure what it was like.

When it was finally time to go into our room, we stood up and I held my arm out awkwardly like I had been doing. It hurt to have it in near my body because it jolted it whenever I took a step.

The odd thing was that the pain was all over my hand and up into my wrist, not in my knuckles like I'd expect.

Jon was watching me worriedly as they had me sit in a chair in the room. The nurse left the room after taking my vitals, and I turned to Jon in confusion.

"Isn't this the ER? I figured it'd be quicker," I said. Jon chuckled.

"Are you bleeding out on the floor?" I frowned at him. "They aren't going to rush your treatment just because you came to the ER. you still need to wait for a doctor. It'd be different if you were going to die soon without treatment, but the worst you've got is a broken bone. It won't kill you."

I sighed. "It still hurts," I grumbled. "Whether I'm going to die soon or not." Jon laughed.

"Of course it hurts. If you broke it, it's going to hurt." He leaned towards me, looking closely at me arm. "It's still swollen around your wrist. And your knuckles and fingers are all bruised. At least you knew enough to keep your thumb out of your fist," he said with a sigh.

"You should be a doctor," I commented. He looked up at me in surprise. "You've got the grades for it, it pays a lot, and you seem pretty interested in it. Be a doctor."

Jon wasn't sure yet what he wanted to do when he got out of school. I knew that my parents wanted him to work at their firm, but Jon had never shown an interest in being a lawyer. And besides, he didn't have the rationality for one. With his temper, he'd probably just walk up to the judge and punch him-not that I would do any better.

Jon shrugged. "Maybe I'll look into it," he said. I narrowed my eyes at him but wasn't able to continue questioning him because there was a knock at the door suddenly.

The door swung open before anybody could respond and a kind-looking woman came in. Her black hair was pinned up in a bun and she smiled when she saw us.

"I thought I saw your name on the paperwork," she said. I smiled back.

"Jia," I said, delighted. Jia was Aline's mother and therefore Sebastian's aunt-the one who doesn't hate me.

"Oh, Clary," she started. She looked down at the papers in her hand and frowned, looking up at me. "You punched someone?" I looked at her with a sheepish smile.

"He called me a prostitute," I defended. Of course, that's not why I punched him, but I didn't feel like going around telling people what he'd really said to make me punch him.

Jia raised a brow before setting her clipboard down and walking over to me. "Can you show me your hand?"

I lifted it gently from where I had it placed in my lap. She took it gingerly, running her fingers over my wrist and knuckles. Her mouth twisted to the side as she looked at it.

"I think it might be fractured, but I'll need to take an X-Ray to be sure. Are your parents in town?" I shook my head, biting my lip as I looked at Jon worriedly.

"But you can still treat her, can't you? I'm a legal adult, isn't that enough?"

Jia sighed, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, Jon-and Clary too." She let me take my hand back. "I can't treat you until your parents are here, or until they fax over all your information. We'll also have to fax papers to them to fill out and send back. The lady at the front desk must have thought you were her legal guardian." She gave me an apologetic look.

"But I know everything there is to know, I filled out all the paperwork," Jon protested. "I know everything except for the insurance stuff. I've practically raised Clary. I bet our parents wouldn't even know half of the things you asked," he snapped. I looked at him with wide eyes.

"Jon," I said. "It's no big deal. We'll just get Mom and Dad to fax the stuff over. I'll give them a call and let them know what's going on. They'll probably be about to call anyway. I'm sure Luke's gotten back to them by now." Jon sighed, slumping in his chair. Jia gave me a helpless look.

"I'm sorry, guys. I know that your parents aren't home much." She looked to my brother. "And I know you're probably right. But I can't treat her without your parents to fill in the paperwork." I nodded in understanding.

"It's okay. Do we need to go back to the waiting room?" She shook her head.

"No. You're perfectly allowed to stay in here until we get the papers filled out. It's not busy, so it won't be a problem." I nodded and she said she would give us some time to call our parents before she would be back.

I pulled out my cell clumsily, going through my contacts until I found my dad. I knew he would be more reasonable.

"Call Dad, not Mom," Jon said, just as I hit talk. I nodded.

"I am," I confirmed. I waited while the phone rung. I checked the time and frowned. It was three. Were they in court right now?

My heart dropped as the call went to voicemail.

"Hey, Dad," I said into the voicemail. "Um, so I know you're going to be angry and Luke probably already left you a voicemail about what happened, but just give me a call as soon as you can, okay? I can explain everything. And...I'm in the emergency room and they need papers filled out. Jon can't do it and they can't treat me until you guys send in papers. So...just get back to me when you can. Love you." I hit end and sighed, dropping my head back against the wall.

Jon groaned when he saw that I'd hung up. "Clary. You forgot to tell him that you weren't dying. They're going to be freaking out." I glared down at my cell phone.

"Maybe they deserve to freak out. For years, they've never been here. They've been away ninety percent of the time. They miss everything. They missed my first dance, my first art show. They haven't been here for you either. And now there's an actual emergency and they're still not here. And we're pretty much screwed because of it," I snapped. "Maybe they'll actually start to pay attention now that something's happened." Jon looked at me in shock.

"What do you expect them to do, Clary? They have to work."

"They don't have to work like this! We've got plenty of money, why do they still go all over the country to help people? What's the point in helping everyone else if you can't even help your own kids when they need it?" Jon looked at me quietly as I breathed heavily from my little rant. As my breathing slowed, I felt the familiar feeling of my phone vibrating.

I sighed before looking down to see who was calling me. 'Dad' flashed on the screen and I hit talk, putting the phone to my ear.

"Dad?"

"Oh, honey, I just missed your call. What happened? You're in the ER?" I bit my lip.

"I'm not dying or anything," I said, giving Jon a pointed look. "They just think I broke my wrist. But they can't do anything yet because-"

"Because you're a minor," he finished for me. He sighed. I smiled a little. Of course he knew that. He's a lawyer. "We're on our way back. We just got off our plane. That's why I missed your call. I'm sorry, sweetie. We'll be there as soon as possible," he promised. I sighed in relief.

"Okay." I could hear my mom saying something in the background.

"And your mother says to tell you that we got Luke's voicemail as well." I groaned.

"I can explain that," I sighed.

"It can wait until we get there," he said. "Just hold tight til we can be there, okay? I love you, hon."

"I love you too," I responded. I hung up the phone and Jon looked at me questioningly.

"Are they going to fax the papers?"

I shook my head. "They're on their way here. They just got off their flight. I guess they were already planning on coming home early."

Jon frowned. "They never come home early." I just shrugged.

"I guess they did this time."

About twenty minutes later of waiting, I got a text from a number I didn't recognize.

_'This is Isabelle, hope you don't mind but Jon gave me your number. Jace wanted me to see if you still wanted to come over today_'

I gave Jon a weird look until he frowned at me. "What?"

"You have Isabelle's number?" I asked him. His brows furrowed.

"No. She asked me for yours, but I don't have hers." I looked at him skeptically for a few seconds.

"And you didn't ask her for hers?" He raised a brow.

"Should I have?" I gave him a blank look.

"Yes." He frowned.

"Why?" I sighed.

"Oh my god, you're hopeless. I thought you liked her?"

Jon shrugged. "I don't know. At first, I thought she was really hot and I figured that it'd be awesome if I was with her."

"But..." I prompted.

"But, she reminds me too much of you. She has the same kind of attitude as you, the same...I don't know. There's just something about her that makes me think of you. It would be like dating my sister," he said, grimacing. I laughed. He looked thoughtful for a second. "Come to think of it, I bet that's why you two get along so well." I shrugged.

"I don't know. I just know she's really nice and I like her. But I don't see how we're alike. I think you and Jace are more alike that Izzy and I," I said. "I bet you two would be friends."

Jon just shrugged and as the door opened, we had no more time to talk.

Our parents filled out the forms and then I was rushed off to the X-ray room. Jon and my parents weren't allowed in it and I stuck my tongue out at my brother like it was a big privilege. He just rolled his eyes. Then we were sent back out to the waiting room.

None of the four of us talked for a while. Then my dad spoke up.

"Did you at least break his nose?"

"Valentine," my mom scolded while Jon and I grinned at him. He just shrugged at her her sheepishly.

"No," Jon answered for me. "She barely even gave him a nose bleed."

"Jon broke Raphael's nose though," I said. But my dad seemed concerned with me still.

"Damn, I need to teach you how to punch."

"Valentine!" The three of us began to laugh and my mom couldn't keep away a smile. She reached over and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"Sweetie, you know hitting people is wrong, right?" I sighed and shrugged.

"I know that typically it's wrong. But I also know that they deserved it after the crap they said to us." Jon nodded in agreement.

"Did Luke tell you what they said?"

Both of them shook their heads.

"Long story short, Jon punched Rapael because they called me a prostitute and I punched Zeke because they called all Morgensterns crazy and told us that Jon and I need to be on meds."

My father immediately looked furious. He gave us a serious look.

"Good job."

"Valentine!" He looked at my mom.

"What? They were just defending each other. Isn't that a good thing? What? Was Jon supposed to let them call our daughter a prostitute? I don't think so. And was Clary supposed to let them insult the whole family?"

Jocelyn gave us a disgruntled look. "But they could have solved it without violence." Jon gave her an incredulous look.

"And how would we have done that? They threatened her! I was going to leave them a warning they'd remember. And so did Clary, even though she hurt herself more than Zeke." I frowned at him and he just smirked back. "Oh, you know it's true. You're in the ER and he barely even had a bloody nose." I sighed.

"Yeah I know." Jon stood up and took a seat on my other side, throwing an arm around me.

"It's okay, Clare. I'll teach you how to hit."

Before I could respond, a lady at the desk called my parents over. I stayed sitting down with Jon, who began to show me the proper way to fist your hands for a punch.

When we finally left the ER, I had only a splint on my hand and forearm instead of the cast I'd expected. Upon receiving the X-rays, Jia had informed us that it wasn't fractured, but it was sprained.

She explained that the reason it hurt so much was because of the bruising all over my hand and knuckles from actually hitting Zeke. Not to mention that sprains hurt. And apparently I had a low pain tolerance. Whatever.

She's also pulled me aside while she was doing the splint, out of earshot of my parents and Jon.

She'd asked me about some bruising on my wrist that had made it possible to sprain it without a lot of actual force behind the punch.

I'd told her I had no idea what could have caused it, even though I was pretty sure I knew what it had been.

On the drive back from the hospital, I kept thinking back on little snippets of memories, like the one in the hall from the day the Lightwoods came to school. The way Sebastian had grabbed my wrist in a way that was a little painful. And that wasn't the first time. He did it every now and then, when he was trying to get his point across or when he wanted me to do something or go somewhere. It had never bothered me before, but it was bothering me now.

When we got back to the house, my parents decided that nobody was really in the mood to cook, so we ordered Chinese.

We all caught up on everything we'd been doing-I'd punched a kid and made friends with the new kids, Jon punched a kid and met the new kids, and my parents won their case.

After a while, we all went to bed. I fell asleep with a small smile. No school for me tomorrow. Jon and I had both been suspended for three days, even though Luke softened the punishment because of what the boys had said. Regardless, I had three days of vacation coming up.

The next day, Jon and I worked on our Game of Thrones marathon until Seb showed up after school. I greeted him with a hug and kiss, and he worried over my hand, which was wrapped in a splint.

The splint was thick and went halfway down my forearm, a strip of the thick material wrapping around between my thumb and pointer finger. The rest of it reached up to just before my fingers. I could still write and do everything I'd done before, but I was supposed to take it easy.

To Jon, that meant takeout every night, since our parents had taken off again this morning. He insisted that I was supposed to take it easy, which meant no lifting heavy pots and pans. I think he just wanted an excuse to get takeout every night.

Seb was just as bad. They both acted like I had completely lost my hand instead of just getting a little sprain.

Of course, Seb also chose to wait until he left that night to tell me that he was going to be away for a week.

He said that his aunt wanted him to go visit some relatives in France. He said that he was flying out the next morning, and he would be gone for a week. And since tonight is Thursday, he wouldn't be back until next Friday.

He promised that he'd come over to say goodbye after school, before he left for the airport.

Jon and I kind of ignored each other the next day. We'd both gotten enough of each other from all the time we'd spent together the past week. I stayed up in my room, working on a sketch I had started-I'd already gotten used to the splint and was able to work with it-while Jon stayed in his room, listening to music.

How do I know he was listening to music? I could hear it. Through the walls.

I was not a happy camper by the time Sebastian showed up. To counter my brother's obnoxious music, I had to put my own headphones in and turn my music loud enough to drown his music out.

When Sebastian got her, he must have called for us, but I never heard him. Eventually, he came up to my room to see if I was here. I looked up when he came into my line of sight, pulling my headphones out and shutting the music off.

"I'm going to kill him," I said immediately. Jon's music was still playing. Sebastian laughed.

"You won't kill him," he reasoned. "You love him too much." I frowned at him.

"I don't know, he's kind of testing it right now." He laughed again and leaned down to press a kiss to my cheek.

"Well, I only have about twenty minutes before I have to leave here to get back to my aunt's. She's driving me to the airport for my flight." I nodded.

"I'll go get Jon and we can all hang out downstairs until you have to go," I offered, closing my sketchbook and standing up from my desk.

Seb nodded and headed down the stairs to wait for us. I walked across the hall and slammed my fist-the one that wasn't in a splint-against Jon's door until it swung open.

"What?" I rolled my eyes at his attitude.

"Sebastian is here. He's leaving in twenty minutes, so put your happy face on and come hang out with us," I demanded. I turned away before he could respond and made my way down the stairs.

Seb patted the seat beside him on the couch as I walked into the room and I sat next to him happily, leaning against his side. He wrapped his arm around me and kissed my forehead as Jon came into the room. He grinned at Seb and sat beside me.

"Hey," Jon greeted. Sebastian returned the greeting.

"So, what part of France are you going to be in?" Jon asked, looking at Seb.

"I'm staying with a relative in Paris. A cousin of mine lives there with his dad-that's who my aunt wants me to visit," he explained. Jon raised his brows, whistling lowly. I frowned at him.

"What?" Seb asked, confusion clouding his voice.

"Paris? You know what they say about Paris-most romantic city? Better take lots of pictures for this one," Jon said, nudging my leg with his foot. I scowled at him.

"Knock it off, Jon. I'm already mad at you today," I warned him. Jon chuckled.

"What have I done to you today? I haven't even been anywhere near you."

"No, but your music was," I snapped. Sebastian's laughter rumbled through his chest and into my shoulder.

"You two were perfectly fine with each other yesterday," he said in amusement. I glared playfully up at him.

"We're siblings, Seb. What do you expect?" He grinned.

"A little sisterly and brotherly love." I snorted.

"Please, we exhausted all that when we stood up for each other two days ago. Whatever we had left was used up in the ER."

Both boys laughed. Jon reached over to ruffle my hair. "Oh, I never run out of sibling love," he joked, pulling me from Seb's side and putting me in a bear hug. I grunted irritably as I tried and failed to push him off of me.

"Yeah, well I do, so get off of me, psycho," I joked. Jon let me go and put a hand to his heart in mock offense.

"And after I defended your honor!" He cried. I chuckled

"Oh, calm down, drama queen." He narrowed his eyes at me.

"You're lucky you're injured." I rolled my eyes.

"Like you would hurt me," I said with a little smile.

"Just wait until you get that thing off," he said, looking devilishly at my splint.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever, bro."

Seb suddenly leaned down and kissed the top of my head. "I've gotta go, babe," he said. "My aunt will be waiting for me."

I looked up at him, my stomach twisting when I realized that I wouldn't see him for a full week. I sighed, standing up. He stood up too, giving Jon a one armed hug before pulling me into a full one.

"I love you," he said. I leaned my cheek against his chest and squeezed my arms around his waist.

"I love you too," I said. He kissed me on the head once more before pulling back and tipping my chin up to place a soft kiss on my lips.

"I'll see you in a week, okay? I don't know how often I'll be able to text there, but I'll try my best, okay?" I nodded.

"Okay. Have fun, take pictures, eat weird food." I kissed him one more time before he left, saying one more I love you before closing the door behind him.

I stood there for a second in the entryway before turning to Jon.

"I'm bored already," I whined, walking into the living room and dropping myself limply onto the couch. Jon laughed.

"You need a life outside of me and Seb," he advised. I groaned into the fabric of the couch.

"Why don't you invite Izzy over tomorrow? You were supposed to go to her house on Wednesday before the fight." I looked up at him then sighed, pulling my phone from my back pocket and sending a quick text.

Then I flopped back down, my phone clattering to the floor. I gave it a wary look before deciding that I didn't really care enough to check on it. Jon sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Stop being so dramatic," he said irritably. "Jesus, it's only for a week."

I lifted my head long enough to give him a nasty look. I mumbled something unintelligible and put my head back down. He just sighed and I listened to his footsteps fade as he left the room, going upstairs to his room.

I closed my eyes and turned my head so I wouldn't suffocate in my sleep. The house was dead silent, and it was easy to drift off to sleep.

When I was awaken by my phone chirping, the windows were letting in more light than they had been when I had fallen asleep, and a cold breeze was drifting into the room.

I reached a hand down and scrambled for my phone until I felt the cool screen. I lifted the device up to my face and saw a text from Isabelle, asking when I wanted them to come over. I replied saying whenever then checked the time to see that it was ten in the morning.

I dropped back on the couch. I ran a hand down my face and sighed, stretching my legs out. I groaned and rolled over, flopping myself off the couch and to the floor. I stood up slowly, feeling my back ache a little from a night spent on the couch.

Of course, it also could've been from falling to the hard wood floor, but I'd done that enough that I was pretty sure I would live.

I walked out to the kitchen slowly, rubbing my palms against my eyes. I was still in a pair of yoga shorts and a tanktop. It was what I had put on for a lazy day around the house yesterday, since I'd had no school.

And they pretend suspension is a punishment. Please, I didn't even have to put real pants on all day. That's a reward.

I popped a couple pieces of toast in the toaster out of habit and headed to the fridge to get a bottle of water.

I yawned as I sat down at the table, pulling my hair into a messy bun in a poor attempt to get it out of my eyes.

I dropped my head down on my arms that rested on the table. I'd slept in for two hours longer than I usually did, and I still felt exhausted.

I heard my phone go off, but didn't care enough to go back out to get it from the living room.

I jumped a good half a foot when the toast popped up from the toaster. I glared halfheartedly at the probably burnt food. I thought about getting up to get it, but didn't find it worth it to cross the distance between me and the countertop.

It was just a day where I didn't want to do anything. And since Seb was away, I wouldn't have to do anything. I sighed, shoving away the guilt for being happy that he was gone. I was tired of being guilty.

I clenched my jaw. If I wanted to be happy that my boyfriend was out of town, I could be.

After a few seconds, my shoulders slumped. Who was I kidding? Sure, i could be happy if I wanted to but I wasn't too sure I did. I was going to go crazy. What did I even do before I had a boyfriend? What did I do with my time?

"I'm hopeless," I muttered.

"Well, I can agree with that." I glared at Jon as he stepped into the kitchen.

"Jerk," I grunted, slumping against the back of my chair. He smirked.

"Good to see you're presentable. You have guests." I looked over in alarm as he stepped out of the doorway.

Isabelle stepped into the room, wearing a pair of heels and a spring dress, her hair pulled up into a neat little updo. Her makeup was done beautifully as always. And I was wearing yoga shorts with my hair a mess and bags surely under my eyes.

"Crap, I didn't hear the bell ring. I figured you'd call before you got here," I said in a rush, sitting up.

Isabelle grinned. "I did call. You didn't answer so we knocked. Jon answered." I groaned.

"I heard my phone go off. I did not hear the door."

Izzy grinned and shrugged. "Oh well. I'm a girl, so I don't really care and Jace's opinion doesn't matter so..." She trailed off with a smirk as Jace made an irritated sound from behind her.

He became visible over her shoulder and looked me over with a raised brow.

"Wow. You look like crap."

I scowled at him. "Don't start with me. I've punched one idiot this week, let's not make it two." Isabelle laughed and Jon gave me a thumbs up before slipping past them and out of the room.

Jace just gave me a respecting nod. "Fair enough. And you've got the battle wounds to prove it."

I blushed lightly, glaring at my splint.

"Only until Wednesday," I said with a sigh. "It's kind of an embarrassing though. I hurt myself more than I hurt Zeke. I should've just let Jon handle it." Izzy put her hands on her hips with a frown.

"Whether you snapped the asshole's nose or not," she started. "You stood up for yourself. They'll remember that. And next time, you'll know how to punch." I grinned at her.

"Yeah. I've already got Jon and my dad lined up to teach me how to hit."

The girl beamed, moving to sit at the table across from me. "And you've got Jace, too," she said.

Jace frowned. "Wait, what?" She scowled at him.

"I told you on the way here, you were going to teach Clary to punch someone the right way so that she breaks their nose next time instead of her wrist."

"Sprain," I corrected, blushing again.

Jace shrugged, pulling a piece of toast from the toaster. "Okay then," he responded, examining the blackened toast. "Holy cow, you need to learn how to use a toaster."

I scowled at him. "Shut up," I snapped. He blinked at me, taking a bite of the toast.

"Don't mind her," Jon said, reentering the kitchen. "She forgot to take her bitch pills this morning."

And to make it even worse, he grabbed the bottle of pills that I took for my migraines from the window sill and tossed them over to me. I caught them clumsily, looking at him in pure shock and betrayal as Jace bit his lip to keep in laughter.

"Jonathan Christopher Morgenstern," I said, my voice deadly. My brother looked at me with wide eyes.

"Oh shit," he muttered as I stood up, setting the bottle down rather aggressively on the table.

"Take it back right now and explain what those are really for," I demanded, pointing at the pills with a shaking finger. I saw the inner debate in Jon's eyes.

"Knew I shouldn't mess with her before she took her bitch pills," he said rapidly before taking off out of the room. I raced after him, chasing him through the living room.

"I'm going to kill you," I shouted, flinging myself forward and landing on his back. He stumbled, nearly losing his balance as I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and my legs around his waist. He tried to pry my fingers off of his shoulder but was having no luck.

"Holy shit, you're like a monkey!" He cried before holding his hands up in surrender.

I jumped off his back, resting my hands on my hips and scowling at him with everything I had.

"Apologize for embarrassing me in front of my friends."

He sighed. "Fine. I'm sorry." Then, louder, he called to Izzy and Jace.

"Clary doesn't take bitch pills. If she did, she'd be a lot nicer." And he was gone before I could react.

"Jerk!" I shouted up the stairs as his door shut behind him.

I could hear Isabelle and Jace laughing. I turned around and saw them standing in the hall, smiling. I sighed. "We don't always get along," I said with a frown.

Isabelle grinned. "Oh, I know exactly how it is. Brothers are assholes," she said. I chuckled.

"Definitely."

We all migrated into the living room and I stood to the side of the couches for a moment.

"I'm going to go get changed. I kind of didn't expect you to be over so early. I was honestly planning on putting some real clothes on," I said, backing towards the stairs. "Oh, and if you hear some screaming, it's just me killing my brother. No need for concern." I turned and headed up the stairs, hearing the siblings laughing behind me.

I bypassed Jon's room, promising myself that I would get him back later. Once I'd gotten dressed and run a brush through my hair, I went back downstairs and plopped down in the empty armchair.

Isabelle looked at me. "So no Sebastian today?" She asked curiously. I shook my head.

"He left for France last night. He's coming back next Friday," I told her. "He's visiting family."

Jace smirked. "What ever are you going to do with yourself while Boy Toy is away?"

"Boy Toy?" I asked, raising my brows. "Seriously?" He nodded.

"Yes," he said simply. I rolled my eyes.

"You're a bit irritating, you know. Has anyone ever told you that?"

"Yes," Izzy responded immediately. "I tell him that every day."

I chuckled. "Of course you do."

Jace gave me a mock-pout. "So rude," he joked. I smiled and he smiled back

I blinked in surprise when my heart skipped a beat. When was the last time it had done that? I was actually mildly concerned for my health.

We were quiet for a moment before I sat up straight. "Oh. I forgot. Do you guys want anything to eat or drink? I'm super bad at being a host. I'm used to Seb and Jon's friends just helping themselves, so you can just eat or drink whatever you want," I said, waving a hand towards the kitchen.

Jace grinned widely and Izzy gave him a warning look. "Jace. Do not eat their entire kitchen." I laughed as he just continued to grin.

"I'm so going to take advantage of this." I shrugged.

"Knock yourself out. Just remember, you're going grocery shopping afterwards. Cuz grocery shopping sucks."

He shuddered. "Okay, never mind then. Keep your food." I laughed.

"Jon has the same reaction when I ask him to go with me."

Izzy looked confused. "You do the grocery shopping? What about your parents?"

"Iz," Jace said warningly. I waved him off.

"It's fine. They're not around a lot, so I do the shopping and cooking," I told her.

She nodded, smiling.

"That's kinda cool. It's like you and Jon have your own place." I smiled and nodded. I'd always thought the same thing.

"And Seb is here like seventy percent of the time too."

Jace grimaced. "That's got to suck for Jon. To have to be watching you two all the time?" My brows knit together in indignation.

"Do I strike you as the type of person that needs to be watched?" I asked sharply. He just gave me a steady look, his golden eyes serious.

"No. But Sebastian does."

I just sighed in aggravation. "Whatever," I said in response. "You can think what you want about him. You're not the one dating him."

Isabelle looked between the two of us with wide eyes. "Okay. Yeah. Um. We should...change the topic," she said, her eyes concerned.

I released my clenched jaw and forced myself to relax my posture. I didn't want this to be a tense few hours. I wanted to have fun and maybe learn a little Spanish, distract myself from how badly I missed Seb already.

"Sorry," Jace said, not looking sorry at all. I just sighed.

"Whatever. Like I said, think what you want about him. Anyway, are we going to be doing some schoolwork or..."

Jace smirked. "Of course. Let's learn some Spanish." The enthusiasm in his voice was infectious and I couldn't help but smile.

We worked for two hours, Izzy watching a movie on the couch while Jace and I sat on the floor with papers scattered around us.

Most of the time, he was writing down sentences and passing the paper to me to translate and write a note back-in Spanish of course. Then he would translate my poorly structured sentence and write one back. It was basically a confusing way of passing notes. But it was actually kind of fun.

One thing that I didn't fail to notice about all of the things he wrote was the way he addressed me.

In Spanish, there were two ways to say 'you'. There was the 'usted' form which you used for people who weren't your family or very close friends. But Jace was using the 'tu' form, which was used for people a lot younger than you-a child, really-family, or a friend you'd known practically your whole life. If you used it with someone who didn't fall into those categories, it was truly flirting.

So the easy way to put it was this: Jace was flirting with me through the whole tutoring session. I wasn't sure how I felt about that.

And even the content of the notes were flirtatious. He said things like 'tu eres muchas más bonita que cualquier otra chica'. Which roughly translates to 'you are much prettier than any other girl'

When I eventually snapped at him to knock it off, reminding him that just because my boyfriend was out of the country didn't mean he didn't exist anymore, he defended himself saying that he was just teaching me words and phrases that I might actually hear if I went to a Spanish speaking country. Isabelle laughed the whole time.

When it was around six, Isabelle said that she and Jace needed to leave. She said that their mom was going to flip if they stayed any longer. I felt kind of like a little kid whose parents ended their playdate when I watched them leave.

I heard Jon making his way down stairs a few minutes after they left. I was watching TV when he walked over and stood in front of me, blocking my view of the screen. I looked up at him with raised brows.

"What?"

"That didn't sound like an English project. That actually didn't even sound like English. It was you and Jace talking the whole time, and you were speaking Spanish. What's going on?" He asked, looking at me with narrowed eyes. My own widened.

"You were listening in on us? Holy crap, Jon. How about a little privacy!" He held his hands up in surrender, but continued to give me a hard look.

"I went to go to the bathroom and heard Jace say something in Spanish. At first, I thought he was picking on you because you're not so great at Spanish. I was going to come down and kick his ass. But I waited a second then you responded back in Spanish. Broken Spanish," he said with a sheepish smile when I glared at him. "But Spanish. I thought you and Izzy were working on an English project. Were you lying about that so you have an excuse to hang out with Jace while Seb's gone?"

I looked at him angrily. I could see it on his face. He didn't mean that the same way I would have. I stood up quickly, clenching my fist that wasn't still in the confining splint.

"You think I'm going to cheat on Seb?" I snapped incredulously.

He threw his arms up in surrender.

"Well, you lied to me to get him over here, you waited until Sebastian was out of the country to have him over, and you were talking to each other in a language you know I don't speak. So tell me, what else is going on if it's not you trying to hide something between you two?" I scowled at him.

"You know what, I am 'hiding something between us'. He's freaking tutoring me, Jon! So that I don't fail Spanish. And yes, I waited until Seb was gone. And yes, I didn't tell you. Because Seb will freak if he finds out!"

Jon and I stood there silently for a moment, just staring at each other as I got my breathing under control. Finally, Jon sighed.

"Tutoring? Why would Seb freak?" His voice was softer now, almost an apology for what he'd accused me of. I crossed my arms over my chest, not quite ready to forgive him yet.

"The same reason you did," I responded sharply. Jon sighed, running a hand through his hair tiredly.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm just looking out for him. You know how much he loves you. It would destroy him if something like that happened," he explained. I frowned at him.

"I wouldn't do that," I replied, dropping back down to the couch, my arms still over my chest. "Just because Jace is attractive doesn't mean I'm going to chase after him like every other girl in the school is doing."

Jon sat down next to me, ruffling my hair affectionately.

"I know, Clare. And I'm sorry," he said, pulling me into his side. "I didn't mean to accuse you of cheating on Seb. I know you wouldn't."

I gave him a firm nod, finally uncrossing my arms.

"Thanks. And you can't tell Sebastian," I said seriously, looking up at my brother. "He doesn't like Jace. He freaks out whenever I talk to him." Jon immediately shook his head.

"No. No way am I lying to him about this." I grabbed him arm as he moved to stand up.

"Jon, please," I begged. "He'll get upset and he'll make me stop getting Jace's help. But I need him to tutor me. He's fluent in Spanish." Jon looked reluctant.

"Clary..."

"I know it's not fair to ask you to lie to him," I said seriously. "And I wouldn't if it wasn't important. It's just until I get the hang of Spanish. Then I swear I'll tell Sebastian. I promise."

Jon sighed. "Okay. But if he finds out, don't put me in the middle of this." I grinned at him thankfully.

"Thank you," I said, hugging him quickly before jumping up from the couch. "I promise it won't be for long."

Jon muttered something that sounded like 'whatever' before I raced out of the room, not giving him the time to change his mind.

It'd be so much easier to do the tutoring now that Jon was on board. And even if Seb did find out now, my brother would be on my side. It was perfect.

Now I just had to figure out how I was going to tell Seb when it was all over.

That would be fun.

**So, it seems that there's a bit of anger in Clary towards her parents. They have kind of abandoned her and Jon, huh? **

**So, just curious, have any of you guys broken any bones? I've broken three. Yeah, I do stupid stuff. **

**And Sebastian is away for a week! You know what they say, 'while Boy Toy's away, we shall play'. People don't say that? Then maybe it's just a snippet from the next chapter that I got confused. Oops ;) (could you guess who might've said that? ;))**

**Hope to see you guys reviewing again! I'd love to see your opinions on this chapter and maybe your broken bone or just injury stories! Those are almost always fun to hear. I'll give you one of my own:**

**A few years ago, I had a birthday party at a skating rink two days before my birthday. Of course, the klutz I am, I fell and shattered my knee cap while doing the chicken dance. Two days before my birthday! That was so much fun-note the sarcasm. But it's a funny story now :)**

**So leave me a little review and maybe next chapter I'll tell everyone about my other two broken bones. They're kind of funny too, looking back now. It definitely wasn't funny at the time though!**

**I'd love to hear from you!**

**-Cassidy**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hellooo :)**

**The broken bone stories were fun to hear :) The other two bones I broke were my pinky-I was playing rugby with a group of guys in 4th grade and broke it-and my wrist-I was wrestling with a guy three grades up from me who was on the football team and a friend of my sister's and got had a buckle fracture in my wrist. I break bones doing really stupid stuff haha :)**

**Anyway, here's the next chapter :) I think you guys will like some events in it ;)**

I was up the next morning incredibly early. Apparently, Seb had gotten the time difference between here and France mixed up. He thought that their time was six hours behind the time in New York. But their time was really six hours ahead of us.

So he'd called at twelve in the afternoon, thinking he'd catch me around dinner time. Instead, he woke me up at six in the morning. On a Sunday.

Naturally, it wasn't a very enthusiastic conversation. I'd given him attitude, grouchy from being woken up early. On a school day, it was no problem to wake up at six. But when I basically had a five day weekend, I was not happy to be up before nine.

I'd told him as much when he asked what my problem was, and he'd snapped back until we were arguing. Finally, I'd just sighed and told him to call back at six, then it would be noon here and I would be in a better mood. He agreed, although he still sounded angry. We'd both hung up without saying goodbye, which bothered me.

I was sitting downstairs in the kitchen, glaring at the waffle that had gotten stuck in the toaster when Jon came downstairs. I was poking at the jammed piece of food with a fork when he came into the room, looking like he'd had a nice, long, refreshing sleep. He was already dressed and had his phone in his hand.

"Hey, Clare, I'm going to be-" he cut himself off, his brows furrowing as he stared at me. "You look like hell. Did you get any sleep last night?" I scowled at him.

"Of course I did. Just not a lot thanks to your friend," I snapped. He raised a brow at me.

"What?"

"Sebastian called me at six in the morning," I growled out. "Apparently he got the times mixed up and called at noon, thinking he would catch me at six at night. Instead, it was six in the morning."

Jon started to laugh suddenly. "He's such a dipshit. Seriously, how could he get things mixed up that badly? You think he'd of checked it online or something."

I nodded in agreement, throwing my hands up in the air. "I know, right! He's such an idiot." I turned back around to try and pry the waffle from the toaster and Jon came up beside me, peering at it.

He reached out as I stabbed at it again, grabbing the now cooled toaster from the sides and flipping it over. The waffle fell out and I snatched it off the counter. "Thanks," I muttered to Jon before taking a bite and walking out towards the living room.

"You're not getting syrup or anything?" He asked, giving me a weird look. I shrugged.

"Too sugary." I dropped down on the couch and grabbed the remote. I flipped through channels and looked up when Jon started talking.

"I'm heading over to Will's house," he said. I smiled. Will was my favorite of his friends-other than Seb of course. "I'll be there until late, probably around eleven. So don't wait up for me on dinner or anything." I nodded.

"Have fun. Tell Will I said hi." He nodded.

"I will. I'm taking my car, so if you go anywhere, you need to take your own." I frowned. I hated my car.

"Okay. I'm probably just staying home anyway."

"Okay. Don't cause any trouble." He ruffled my hair and headed out the door, closing it behind him.

I sat there for a while longer, flipping through the TV and looking for something good to watch. I finally settled for watching Bruce Almighty again, which I'd watched probably thirty times since I had recorded it the week before. The movie was halfway through when I heard my phone ringing.

I didn't bother to sit up, just stretched until my arm reached where the device was on the side table. I didn't check the caller ID, just picked it up.

"Seb, I said noon, six for you. I'm still angry. Call back later."

I heard a chuckle from the other line. "Poor Seb. What'd he do now?"

I wrinkled my nose, pulling the phone away to see that I was in a conversation with Isabelle, not Seb. But it wasn't Isabelle on the phone.

"Jace?" I asked.

"The one and only," he responded happily. I rolled my eyes.

"Why are you using Isabelle's phone?"

"Because I don't have your number and she does," he said, like it was the most obvious thing ever. I frowned.

"Okay. But why did you need to call me? You're lucky I'm even up. It's only nine."

He laughed again. "You call nine early?"

I paused the movie so I could hear better. "No. I usually get up around nine. But I wouldn't have picked up if I'd just woken up."

"Then why did you?" I sighed.

"Because I was up early today. Seb called me at six. Well, it was noon for him. But it was six for me."

"Well, that's not very considerate."

"He got the time difference mixed up," I defended, although I really didn't feel in the mood to defend Seb. "He's a moron. He does stuff like that," I added irritably. Jace laughed.

"I can see you're in a happy mood." I scowled at the ceiling as I rested on my back on the couch.

"Shut up. You would be too, if you got woken up at six in the middle of a five day weekend."

"Five day weekend?"

"Yeah. Because Jon and I got suspended for three days," I reminded him.

"Oh, is that what suspension is to you? An extended weekend?" I grinned.

"I think that's what it is to everyone. I don't see how it's a punishment."

"Think of all the work you're going to have to make up," he reminded me. I groaned.

"Why? I'd completely forgotten."

"Hey, at least I can help you with the Spanish work," he said. I smiled a little.

"Oh thank god." I heard him chuckle, and could picture the lopsided smile he would be giving me.

"I've got what's been assigned with me already. I can come over and we can work on it," he offered. I bit my lip.

Now this time, I wasn't worried about Sebastian. It was Jon who wouldn't like it if I had a guy over while I was alone. But I used to have Simon over all the time, and he hadn't minded that.

"Okay," I finally said. "Just give me a half hour. I'm not even out of pajamas yet."

He agreed and we hung up. I sighed, tossing my phone onto the cushion beside me. I waited a few minutes before finally getting up. I took a quick shower before tossing my hair up and throwing on a pair of jeans and a tanktop that had paint splattered onto it. I frowned at my overfilling laundry basket before grabbing it and lugging it down the stairs.

Our laundry room was to the side of the downstairs bathroom. It was a small room that was always warmer than the rest of the house. It smelled like laundry detergent and I breathed in deeply as I dropped the basket down. I walked over to the washer and opened the lid, groaning when I saw that Jon had left a load of wet laundry in it again.

"Moron," I muttered. He always did that.

He would leave a load in the washer, knowing that if I wanted to get any laundry done I would have to finish his for him. I was lifting an armful of his wet clothes when I heard a knock at the door. I dropped the clothing into the dryer and rushed out of the laundry room.

I opened the door, smiling at Jace.

"Hey," I greeted. He returned it and then frowned.

"You look frazzled," he said.

I rolled my eyes. "Do you always say exactly what you're thinking?" He smirked.

"No. If I did that, I would get slapped a lot. Basically every day." I laughed, shaking my head and closing the door once he was inside.

"I don't doubt it." I walked over to the living room and he followed me, looking around curiously.

"Where's Jon?" He asked.

"You know Will?" He shook his head.

"Haven't met anyone named Will yet." I shrugged.

"You'll probably meet him at some point. He's a grade ahead of us. Jon's at his house." Jace nodded.

"Where's Isabelle?" I asked him in return. "She didn't want to come with you?"

He grinned. "She said that she was pissed at me and did not wish to be in the same room as me because I stole her phone for five minutes." I chuckled.

"Only you could piss someone off that much without even trying." Jace just shrugged.

"Yeah. It's a talent." I rolled my eyes at him for what had to be the millionth time.

"Yeah, okay," I said. Jace smirked.

"I have a lot of talents. Kissing is one of them. I could show you if you want," he said with a wink.

I scowled at him, ignoring the little flip my stomach did. "Knock it off," I said, with less strength behind it than I intended. He just grinned suggestively.

"You know what they say. While Boy Toy's away, we shall play."

I made a sound in the back of my throat, something between anger, laughter, and disgust at the way he'd phrased his little joke.

"I'm at least ninety percent sure people don't say that," I said, putting my hands on my hips. He shrugged.

"Either way, I think we should follow it." I huffed in annoyance, turning around and heading back to the laundry room.

Unfortunately, he followed me.

"What're you doing?" He asked, his voice curious as he followed me down the hallway.

"Laundry," I replied. "What I was in the middle of doing when you got here that made me look frazzled."

I gave him a weird look when he followed me into the laundry room. "What, you find laundry fascinating?"

He winked again. "When you're doing it, I do." I glared at him.

"Is this going to keep going on all night?"

He smirked. "Most likely," he confirmed. I sighed.

"You know, you're a lot less tolerable when your sister isn't around," I stated, giving him an irritated look. He grinned.

"Oh, you know I'm fun to be around," he said confidently. I made a non-committing noise.

If I was being honest, I did like being around Jace. He was funny and entertaining, and he was so open about himself. I felt like I had known him for years already. And he was honest, almost brutally so. But it was refreshing to know that if I ever asked him something, I would get the truth.

And, I had to admit, his flirting gave me a little thrill. As awful as it sounded, it was nice to have someone so interested in me. It was nice to have someone that found me attractive, that seemed to genuinely want to be around me. It was nice to feel wanted.

And damn, he was attractive. What sane girl wouldn't want a guy as gorgeous as him hanging around? I'd always been a fan of the belief in 'window shopping'. It was okay to look and appreciate if someone was attractive, as long as you were still faithful to your partner.

I didn't believe though, that Seb would appreciate my 'window shopping'.

I continued to transfer Jon's laundry into the dryer as Jace lapsed into silence. I looked up at him as I tossed a dryer sheet in. "Why are you being so quiet?" I asked.

"You looked like you were thinking, so I was letting you think," he said with a light shrug.

The corners of my lips turned up as I went back to the laundry, dumping my clothes into the washer. I tossed a scoop of detergent in on top and shut the lid, turning the dial to start it up.

"Okay," I said. "Now we can start Spanish." Jace nodded and followed me from the room.

I was kind of starting to feel like I had suddenly acquired a puppy.

I dropped down into the floor again and Jace grabbed his backpack from the couch before dropping it down in front of him.

He pulled out a few sheets of paper and handed them to me. "Mr. Whitelaw let me take extra copies of the work we've done for you so you don't have to struggle to get it all done after you come back," he explained as I looked the papers over.

"Thanks," I said with a smile. "It'll definitely help." After a minute of reading what I would have to do, I wasn't so thankful anymore.

"Jace," I started, feeling my cheeks heat up. "I don't really know this very-"

He was immediately by my side. "I'm here to help," he said kindly. I looked at him helplessly.

"I just can't figure this stuff out," I admitted. The title on all the papers had to do with the RID function.

Half an hour later, I dropped the papers in frustration as Jace tried to explain the indirect subject once again.

"Screw it," I finally snapped. "I can't do this." I dropped my head into my hands, my hair falling around my face. I had ripped the hair tie out ten minutes earlier, frustration building up inside me.

I hated when I didn't understand things. Since I could remember, I'd always gotten flustered whenever I couldn't understand. Usually, I managed to figure it out but for whatever reason I couldn't get the hang of this, and the frustration was driving me crazy.

"Why is this so hard?" I groaned, picking my head back up

to look at Jace. "Everyone else can get this. Why can't I?"

"Hey," Jace said softly. "You'll catch on. Just let yourself breathe. Let's take a break and we can get back to it later, once you've had some time to calm down." I nodded, glaring at the papers.

"Okay," I sighed, shoving them away from me. Jace stood up and offered me a hand.

I took it and stood, getting hit with a sudden rush of dizziness. I tried to keep my balance but ended up stumbling anyway. And since I was so close to Jace, I stumbled right into him.

I blinked slowly as the light-headedness faded, the room halting in its spinning.

When I was steady again, I realized the situation I had gotten myself in. My hands were on Jace's chest, his on my shoulders, looking down at me worriedly.

I blushed, smiling sheepishly as I stepped back. "Sorry," I muttered. "I got a little dizzy."

He smirked. "No problem. I tend to do that to girls." I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

"Whatever," I said, stretching my arms up over my head. Jace gave me a serious look then.

"You know what else makes people dizzy? Not eating," he said pointedly.

I tried to look at him with confusion, but I couldn't manage to look into his eyes and lie. My gaze flickered back to his piercing golden one when he spoke again.

"Why don't you eat? And don't say you eat fine, because you can't even look at me right now." I forced myself to look at him again.

"Question for a question?" I asked, my voice quiet. He looked thoughtful, but nodded.

"What's with your name?" I asked. "You call yourself Jace Lightwood, but Mr. Starkweather called you Jonathan Herondale." I saw his jaw clench and relief washed over me. He wasn't going to answer, which meant I didn't have to.

"Jonathan Christian Herondale is my full birth name," he finally said. I looked at him in surprise. Was he really so concerned about my eating habits that he would answer such a personal question? "I don't go by it because I don't like it. I like being a Lightwood. They're my real family, not the Herondales. My mother killed herself without a thought to my well-being. So I don't go by Herondale. And I go by Jace because that's the nickname Mayrse gave me." He smiled at my shocked expression. "Your turn."

I choked on the words that I knew I should say: I do eat. You just don't see me.

How could I lie to him after he'd answered my question so honestly. I sighed, looking down at my feet, bare on the hardwood floors.

"I don't eat a lot because I don't want to look like I do," I said softly.

"What do you mean?" Jace asked, though I was pretty sure he understood me fine.

"I want to look thin, have a good figure," I snapped, looking up at him again. "What do you think I mean?"

Jace was giving me an incredulous look. "You've got to be joking," he said, his voice thick with shock. I frowned at him.

"What are you taking about?" I asked, exasperated.

"You're freaking skin and bones, Clary," Jace said, gesturing to me. "You want to know what I thought when I first saw you?" He asked, his lips forming a tiny, ironic smile. I looked away again, not sure if I did. He continued anyway. "I saw you and I thought 'now that's a beautiful girl' and then I looked closer, and I thought that you were anorexic."

My eyes flickered up to his in shock. I looked anorexic? He had to be lying.

Because why would Seb lie to me? Why would he tell me that I was overweight if I looked like I was sick?

This was Jace though. Only a couple hours ago I had been thinking about how honest he was. And why would Jace tell me I looked anorexic if I didn't?

Unable to handle his piercing gaze on me anymore, I rushed out of the room, racing up the familiar stairs and into my room. I went straight through my room and into the bathroom, looking at myself in the mirror. The first thing I saw were wide green eyes, shimmering with unshed tears. Then I saw the bright red mess on top of my head. My cheeks were flushed, and I looked closer at them.

I was shaking, trying to disprove both Jace and Sebastian at the same time. But there was only one girl in the mirror, and they couldn't both be wrong.

I could see how my face was heart shaped, rounder than I liked because of my cheeks. One point for Sebastian. Without a thought, I pulled my shirt up to my chest, looking at my stomach. For a second, I didn't see what either of them saw. It was just pale skin. Then I saw the parallel lines of my ribs running down my sides, and the deep gap between them. I turned to the side, shaking as I stared in the mirror, seeing how obviously visible my ribs were. Were you supposed to be able to count them?

I pushed my shirt back down, trying to hide the bones that were all too visible. But now that I'd become aware of it, even after I put my shirt down, I could still see the lines from the bones.

I turned away from the mirror, trembling. How could I see both girls in one? The one that Jace saw, that anorexic one, right alongside the one Sebastian saw, the overweight one.

Turning back to the mirror, I saw that another person had joined the image. I didn't pay Jace any attention, not hearing what he was saying to me over the rush of blood in my head.

Suddenly, my hand was holding a hairbrush that I had left on my counter earlier in the morning. In a moment where I lost all my self control and reason, I threw the brush forward with all the strength and anger I had. It collided with the mirror in an explosion of the sharp sound of glass shattering and light refracting dizzily off the pieces tinkling to the sink and counter. Some pieces flew outwards and I felt a slice of pain across my cheek.

When it was all over, I stood looking at the backing of the mirror, breathing heavily and still shaking.

"Clary." I finally turned to look at Jace, who gave me a sad, apologetic look. "I didn't mean to upset you," he said quietly, looking at something over my head.

I turned my face up to see what he was staring at and heard the tinkle of glass hitting the floor. I sighed. It was in my hair. I started to step forward, out of the bathroom and Jace held a hand up to stop me, pointing at my feet.

I looked down to see broken glass scattered on the ground. I sighed, running a hand down my face.

"Jon's going to kill me." Jace chuckled roughly, running a hand through his hair.

He grabbed a towel from the rack near him and put it on the floor in front of me so I could walk without cutting my feet. I walked over to him, my legs still a little unsteady.

A few minutes later, I was sitting on the floor in my room, just outside my bathroom, while Jace swept up the glass on the floor. I had tried to do it, but he insisted on cleaning it up since he'd 'provoked' me.

I was carefully picking glass out of my hair, which I had taken down to get it easier. My emotions had calmed down to a simmering, almost completely suppressed anger. I couldn't decide who I was angry at more-myself, or Sebastian.

"Are you okay?" I looked up from the small pile of glass I'd pulled from my hair to see Jace looking at me with concern.

I nodded. "Fine," I said, running a wet paper towel across my cheek again. It was the only place I had actually gotten cut.

"I didn't mean your cheek," Jace said. "I meant you. You kind of had a mental breakdown or something there," he said with a joking smile, dumping the glass he'd cleaned up into the garbage.

I shrugged. "It happens when I forget to take my bitch pills," I joked. Jace laughed.

"Your brother has the same sense of humor as you," he said, picking up the last few pieces of glass. I smiled.

"We're close," I said. "We're a lot alike. I think you two would get along too," I said. Jace looked thoughtful.

"I don't know about that. I don't think your boyfriend would be too pleased if I were friends with Jon." I scowled down at the floor.

"Who cares whether he's pleased or not," I snapped.

I looked up at Jace when he stopped in front of me, crouching down to look at me. "Why are you so pissed at him?" Jace asked with a slight frown. "I know waking you up early isn't worth all this-" suddenly, he cut himself off, his expression turning to one of anger. "He's the one who makes you think like you do," he said, his voice trembling in rage.

I frowned back at him. "'Think like I do'?" I asked, not comprehending what he was saying.

"He's the one whose making you think you're not good enough. I can see it. It's like he's putting blinders on you. You only see what he wants you to see."

I looked down at the ground. "You put blinders on horses to protect them," I reminded him, thinking of the horse races my father used to watch. "All he's doing is trying to protect me."

Jace scoffed. "You put blinders on horses to control them," he snapped back. "You make them see what makes them feel safe, even when there's chaos around them, like in a race. You do it so they stay calm and do what you want. That's what he's doing to you." I looked away again, unable to hold his gaze.

He sighed and rested a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry," he said. "I know I've done nothing but upset you today." I shrugged.

"Whatever," I muttered, chewing on my lip in thought. Jace leaned back on his heels, suddenly smiling.

"You need a distraction," he declared, standing up. He held a hand down for me but I didn't take it this time. My good hand was busy holding the paper towel to my cheek.

I knew it probably wasn't necessary anymore, but it was comforting to have the cool towel against my flushed cheek.

Jace just took his hand back as I stood on my own, watching me carefully to make sure I didn't stumble again. When he was assured that I wasn't going to collapse, he turned on his heel and walked over to my bed, dropping down onto it on his back.

"What're you doing?" I asked, a little startled that he was so comfortable in my room already. He grinned.

"Distraction, remember?" He said, reaching for his belt.

"No," I snapped, turning around quickly, my cheeks blushing brighter than they probably ever had. "If that's your idea of a distraction-"

"Chinese?" He asked. I turned around again slowly, my eyebrows furrowing as he held out his cell phone, a knowing grin splitting his face.

I put my hands over my face in mortification, turning away from him and walking into the bathroom. His laughter followed me and I felt like I might slap him. He'd been reaching for his phone, not his belt. And he knew exactly what I had thought he was doing.

I stopped in the bathroom for a minute, wishing I still had a mirror to make sure my cheeks were no longer flushed before I left. Instead, I just stood there, hoping the redness was going away. When I walked back out, Jace looked up from his phone, still smirking.

I looked at him, prepared to ask if he needed my address if he was ordering Chinese. But when I met his eyes, I shut my mouth and turned around again, wishing a hole would open up below my feet and drop me into it. He laughed louder this time and the sound made my stomach do another one of those little flips.

"Come on," he said. "I'm not going to make fun of you."

I turned back to him with a sigh.

"Maybe not, but I'm still making fun of myself," I muttered, finally turning back around and walking over to sit by his feet.

He held his phone up again. "What do you want from the Chinese place?" I started to wave him off, an instinctual reaction to somebody offering me food, and Jace gave me a hard look. "Don't you dare say you don't want anything."

I sighed, telling him what I usually are from there. He nodded and dialed a number quickly. I raised my brows at him as he put the phone to his ear. "You just moved here and you already have their number memorized?" He just stuck his tongue out at me before he started to order.

While he did, I looked around my room, trying to guess how he would be seeing it.

It was a medium sized room and the walls were painted a teal blue. Drawings and paintings I'd created over the years were taped and tacked to the walls. A few posters were tacked up as well, along with a dream catcher hanging over the head of my bed. I had a desk in the corner covered with papers and paints and charcoals. A bookshelf was against the wall near it and half the shelves were devoted to art supplies that overfilled my desk, the other half containing some of my favorite books.

Thankfully, no clothes were scattered on the floor like usual, since I'd picked it all up when I did laundry. There were papers and things still scattered though, and I stood up to collect them while Jace ordered our food.

I shoved the papers onto my desk and tossed some pencils onto it too. I groaned when a pencil knocked into a glass of water I'd been using for water painting and spilled the pink water over some papers. I hurried to pick it up, setting it to the side and scrambling for the papers that had gotten wet.

With a giant stroke of luck, the cup had been almost empty, so it didn't create a huge mess.

I grabbed a towel from the chair to sop up the water, checking to make sure I hadn't ruined anything important. The papers were just a couple rough sketches I had done a week or so ago, so I tossed them in the overfilling bin beside the desk. I heard Jace whistle lowly and looked over my shoulder to see him staring at my desk.

"That's a mess," he said with a frown. I rolled my eyes.

"Then clean it, if it bothers you," I said, the same thing I always said to Jon when he pointed out a mess.

The difference here was that, when I headed over to sit on my bed, he actually started cleaning.

"I was just joking," I said with a laugh. He turned back to me and winked.

"Just calm down, sweetheart. I'm OCD, I could clean for a living and be happy."

I snorted in amusement, forcing down the grin that appeared when he called me sweetheart. I bit my lip. I knew I should snap at him for that, but what if he was one of those guys who called everyone sweetheart? Then I would look like an idiot. And even if that wasn't a risk-which it really wouldn't be since he's seen me look like an idiot way too many times already-how would it be fair to snap at him for doing something that made my heart flop around in my chest like a dying fish? But how was it fair to my boyfriend to allow another guy to be flirting with me and calling me sweetheart?

But, then again, Sebastian hadn't exactly been fair to me lately. It wasn't fair of him to be angry with me for talking to Jace. It wasn't fair of him to bruise my wrist so badly that it enabled a sprain. It wasn't fair for him to tell me I needed to lose weight. And it definitely wasn't fair for him to take off to a foreign country and give me only a day's notice.

So maybe it was my turn to not be fair.

So I just smiled at Jace as he started to clear things off my desk. Every few seconds, he would hold something up to me and I would tell him where it went. Eventually he caught on to the basic placement of my art supplies. Paint in the biggest drawer of my desk, charcoals in the small basket on the book shelf, prismacolors in the blue pencil case in the smallest drawer, and so on. By the time the doorbell rang, the desk was almost clear and Jace was looking through some of my work.

I beat Jace to the door and paid for the food, brining it back into the living room after. He gave me a disapproving look and I frowned.

"What?"

"I intended to pay," he said with a slight pout. I chuckled, patting his head as I set the bag down on the coffee table.

"You can pay next time," I assured him. "Just to fix your injured pride."

He smirked, his eyes twinkling devilishly. "Is that a date, Miss Morgenstern?" He asked with a wink.

I rolled my eyes, but smiled, turning to the bag to pull out our food. Once we both had our food, I sat down beside him on the couch.

I managed to convince him to watch Bruce Almighty with me and by the time we were finished the movie, our food was gone and we were laughing over a fortune cookie that Jace had gotten.

When my phone rang, I picked it up without a thought.

"Hello?" I answered, smiling at Jace, who stuck his tongue out at me.

"Clary?" My smile was wiped away at Sebastian's voice. I wasn't ready for this conversation yet.

"Seb," I said, mainly for Jace's benefit. He scowled and I turned away from him.

"You sound like you're less bitchy now," he said, his tone sharp. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah. It's not six in the morning anymore, are you shocked that I'm in a better mood?"

"Or maybe you're still acting like a bitch." I sighed.

"Seb, can we just move on from this? Okay? How's France?"

He laughed a little. "Frikkin' cold. And I've got no one to warm me up in bed right now." I smiled slightly, despite the little voice in my head telling me that I should be furious with him.

"I think the solution to that problem is this new thing called a blanket. You can get them pretty much everywhere," I joked. I heard Seb's rough laughter through the phone.

"You know, you'd make a much better blanket." I chuckled.

"I'm sure," I said sarcastically. I saw Jace looking at me oddly and frowned at him. He just shook his head and looked away. "Hey, Seb, I've gotta go, okay?"

"Do you really have to? We just started talking."

"Yeah, I'm sorry," I said. "I've got a friend over and-"

"Who?" He asked sharply, before I could finish. It was probably a good thing too. I was about to say 'he'.

"Um, Isabelle. Why?" There was moment of silence on the other end of the line.

"The one whose got that blonde prick of a brother?" I sighed.

"Seb, he's not a-"

"Are you seriously defending him?" He snapped.

"Are you seriously being an asshole for no reason?" I saw Jace lean slightly towards me, suddenly interested.

"It's not no reason, Clary. I don't trust him." I rolled my eyes.

"Why, Sebastian? Why? Give me one reason."

"Because he's been after you since the first time I fucking saw him! He was watching you on the first day, before you were even introduced. I fucking saw Magnus introduce you to the three of them. I wasn't in my class yet." I winced as he started yelling into the phone and saw Jace scowl. I had no doubt he'd heard every word.

"Sebastian," I said as calmly as I could manage. "Today is not the day to start shit with me."

"Oh, really? Because you start shit every day, Clarissa! You have no right to be telling me what to do when you act the way you do. You should be thankful I fucking put up with it!"

I flinched. "Sebastian," I started. "Just calm-"

"Don't you tell me to fucking calm down!"

"If you would control yourself I wouldn't have to," I hissed back.

"Whatever, Clary. I don't fucking care anymore." I ran a hand through my hair exhaustedly.

"Seb, just...just call back tomorrow, okay? I'm sorry. I'm just pissy today." I heard him sigh raggedly.

"Okay, babe. I'll call you around this time. I love you."

"I love you too," I said wearily, hitting the end button.

When I looked back at Jace, he looked amazed.

"What the hell was that?" I ran a hand through my hair in exhaustion. It was two, which meant it was two hours past when Seb said he would call. It was eight in Paris.

I brushed the thought that had been nagging me since he'd said that he didn't care anymore. If it was nine, then Seb would be in bed. There was no way that the sound I had heard was a girl's giggling. It must've been something else, the TV or something.

"What was what?" I asked, looking back at Jace after assuring myself that Seb must've had the TV on in the background.

"That conversation. You seemed so angry with him earlier, and he was shouting at you. I could hear him, every word he said. And you just let him say that shit to you. And you didn't bring up what you were upset about earlier, either." I sighed.

"He's in a completely different country right now. I figured the fighting could wait until he got back. Is that so awful?" I asked tiredly.

Jace's mouth twisted down in a frown but he sighed. "I guess not. As long as you actually bring it up when he gets back, instead of just ignoring it." I gritted my teeth, fighting the urge to tell him that it was none of his business.

"I will," I said instead. There was no reason to be angry with Jace. I was angry with Seb, not him.

After a few minutes of silence, I picked up the remote again, flipping through my DVR until I found the first Transformers movie. I put it on while Jace smirked at me.

"Transformers?" I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Got a problem with that?" He shook his head immediately, holding his hands up in surrender. I grinned. "Good. Because otherwise we were going to watch Game of Thrones."

Jace raised a brow. "Game of Thrones? I've heard that that's basically medieval porn." I scowled at him.

"I will sic Daenerys' dragon on you," I snapped. Jace just blinked at me before turning back to the screen, playing the opening credits for Transformers. "That's what I thought," I huffed, leaning back in my seat.

By the time the movie was over, Jace had fallen asleep. And naturally, since I was tired at that point, and he looked like a fairly comfy pillow, I shifted so that my head rested on his shoulder before closing my eyes with the intention of a short nap.

Instead, I woke up to Jace shaking my shoulder gently. I peered up at him, sitting up and away from his shoulder. "What?" I grumbled in irritation. Jaw chuckled.

"It's ten, Clary. I've got to get home before Maryse starts sending out search parties," he said with a chuckle. I yawned, nodding.

"Okay," I said quietly.

"Do you want me to stay until Jon gets back?" He asked, looking concerned. I just waved him off.

"I'm fine alone," I said. "Go, before Izzy gets sent out to look for you."

He shuddered. "That would be terrifying," he said. I laughed sleepily, slumping back down onto the arm of the chair.

"Thanks for the help-well, attempted help-with Spanish. And a fun day. I'd probably have just sat here watching Game of Thrones all day if you weren't here." Jace chuckled.

"Medieval porn." I pulled a pillow from the floor, where we'd thrown the couch pillows when we were getting comfortable, and hit him in the back of the head repeatedly

"Okay, okay! It's not medieval porn!" He cried out, holding his hands up in surrender. I pulled the pillow back to me.

"That's it. We're watching Game of Thrones next time you're here. Jon and I have only gotten to the sixth episode, so we can start over from the first."

Jace smirked. "Are you asking me to watch medieval porn with you?" He immediately held his hands up to defend his face, which was smart since a pillow was already flying towards him.

By the time he left, his hair was tousled from being hit with a pillow too many times, but he was laughing. He hugged me goodbye when he left, giving me a warm feeling in my chest.

When Jon got home, I was on the couch watching the second Transformers. He took one look at me and his brows furrowed.

"You've got that look on your face. The one girls always get after talking to a guy they like. What, did Seb just call?" He asked, smiling a little.

I felt a little jolt of surprise. "Uh, yeah," I lied. He just smiled and went upstairs to his room, leaving me to stare at the TV, although I wasn't really seeing autobots or decepticons anymore.

I was seeing Jace, the lopsided grin he gave me as he hugged me goodbye, the twinkle in his eyes as he flirted with me.

Did I really have that look that girls got? After a day with Jace?

Jace's POV

"You're grinning like an idiot," I was greeted with as soon as I stepped in the front door of my house.

I wiped the smile away as I looked at Izzy, lying on the couch with her phone in her hand.

"No I'm not," I denied, walking over and sitting next to her on the sofa, grabbing the remote from the side table.

"Uh-huh," Izzy said, clearly not convinced. I ignored her, flipping through the channels.

When I saw the second Transformers movie, I smiled. I had been watching the first Transformers movie, almost asleep but not quite, when Clary had moved over on the couch, leaning against my arm. I'd had the urge to put my arm around her, but hadn't for fear of startling her and chasing her away. Falling asleep with her head on my shoulder was an something that I definitely wanted to experience again.

"And your hair is all messed up," I heard Izzy say. I turned to her irritably, seeing her grinning. "Did you kiss her? Or more?"

I frowned. "Iz, in case you've forgotten, she's got a boyfriend." I gritted my teeth at the thought of him. "As much of a prick as he is," I added.

My sister leaned towards me, her eyes wide. "You sound angry," she prompted.

I scoffed. "You think? When I went over, I was helping her with her Spanish work and everything was going fine-"

"Were you flirting with her again?" I bit my lip but couldn't hide a little smile.

"Just a little," I admitted, although I knew it was more like a lot.

"How'd she respond to that?"

"At first, she kept snapping at me to knock it off, then after a while, she started to just kind of smile and let it go. Damn, is this considered girl talk? 'Cuz I feel like a girl right now," I said, looking at Izzy with a frown. She smirked.

"You sound a bit like one too. But seriously, what pissed you off?"

"Her fucking boyfriend," I snapped.

"You're mad that she has a boyfriend? You've known that," she pointed out. I gave her a harsh look.

"I didn't know that he was the reason she hardly eats," I growled out. Isabelle looked surprised.

"Wait, wait. What exactly happened?"

So I told her what had happened, leaving out the whole scene about the mirror that Clary had smashed. There was no way I could tell the story without making it sound like she'd lost her mind. I just told her she'd gotten really upset. Then I told her about the phone call. I told her how he'd yelled and cursed so loudly at her that I'd heard every word.

When I was done, Izzy just looked at me calmly. "And something happened after that, right? Something that put you in a better mood," she said keenly. I smiled a little, remembering the goofy smile she'd given me as I teased her about watching Game of Thrones.

"We were watching a movie and she thought I was asleep. She moved over and put her head on my shoulder and went to sleep," I told Izzy.

Her lips spread in a wide grin. "Oh my god, she likes you!" I frowned at her.

"What do you mean? She thought I'd make a nice pillow. That doesn't mean she likes me. She likes that bastard." Izzy shook her head.

"No. She likes you. If she wanted a pillow, she would've gotten a pillow. She specifically moved over to be closer to you and sleep next to you. She may be dating Sebastian, but that doesn't mean she doesn't like you too."

"You're serious?" I looked at her closely. If I could be sure Clary liked me like I liked her, I could be more bold than I already was being. Isabelle nodded.

"Definitely. And I've seen the way she looks at you."

"Except when Sebastian is around," I said bitterly.

I wanted to revel in the fact that Clary had feelings for me-because I was sure Isabelle was right. She was too perceptive to be wrong-but Sebastian kept popping up in my mind, his arm wrapped around Clary while she looked down at the ground, the way I had noticed her doing whenever Sebastian started to talk.

"Something's up with those two," Izzy said, her eyes narrowed. "It's weird, how they act around each other. Clary is completely different when he's around and when he's not. Have you seen how much of a better mood she's been in since he left? She never really talks around him, it's like his personality dwarfs hers."

I had noticed the same things. "And he's got her starving herself," I reminded her.

"Well, that sounds like a perfectly healthy relationship." I looked up to see Alec walking in from the kitchen, munching on an apple.

"Have you been eavesdropping?" Isabelle snapped.

Alec smiled crookedly. "No. But somebody was," he said.

"Alec!" Alec laughed quietly as Maryse stepped out of the kitchen. She gave Izzy and I a sheepish look.

"Sorry. I heard Jace talking about a girl and I just...I got nosy," she admitted. I grimaced slightly as Alec looked at me with a raised brow.

"Jace was talking about a girl?" I scowled at him.

"Don't sound so surprised," I snapped. He smirked.

"Jace has got a crush," he teased. I scowled, standing up quickly.

"Alec!" Maryse snapped as I headed towards the hallway. "Jace! Just tell me a bit about her? Please, sweetie? You've never talked about a girl like this." I looked at her reluctantly.

"C'mon, Jace," Isabelle pleaded. "You like talking about her."

"Iz," I sighed.

"C'mon, humor me," Maryse pleaded, sitting on the edge of the couch. "What does she look like?"

Alec held his hands up in surrender as she pointed at him when I didn't say anything. "You, out. You tease him too much." I stuck my tongue out at him as he left the room.

"Please?" She asked me as soon as he was gone. "I want to hear about her." I sighed.

"She's pretty," I started. Maryse clapped her hands together in delight that I was speaking.

"She's got this crazy red hair, but it looks good on her. And her eyes are this really pretty green." Izzy smiled at me.

"She's short," she reminded me. I rolled my eyes but smiled.

"Really short. But don't tell her that because you might get slapped," I said with a chuckle. "But it's actually kind of funny. Her brother is about as tall as Alec, so it's weird that she's so short, but it's cute. She's probably one of the nicest people over ever met, but she's got this douche of a boyfriend-"

"I heard about him," Maryse said with a frown. "You should take his place," she said simply. "You would be much better for her."

I sighed. "Try convincing her of that," I muttered, turning and heading out of the room.

Clary's pov

When Jon and I went back to school on Tuesday, everyone had something to say about the incident. And almost everyone was wrong.

After a few different stories, I started to enjoy hearing all the different variations of the incident. I just sat and listened to what each person had heard. It was a classic example of how rumors spread. I wish I'd had a video camera to make a documentary about it.

By the time I got to Spanish, I was completely amused by everyone's stories. I sat down next to Jace and turned to look at him.

"Did you know that I punched Zeke because Sebastian was cheating on me with him? And then I killed Seb and that's why he's not at school."

Jace chuckled. "I heard that one on Thursday," he said, grinning. "This school is really creative with their rumors. Did you hear the one where you cheated on Sebastian with Zeke and punched him and Raphael both because they told him?"

I laughed. "I hadn't heard that one yet, actually," I said. "But they all seem inclined to think adultery was involved in some way."

Jace gave me a smile that seemed a little tight.

"Clary! You're back!" I turned to look at Aline, smiling.

"Yeah. I was only suspended for three days," I reminded her. She nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah, that's what Sebastian told me," she agreed. "So how was your little forced vacation?"

I smiled at her. "Oh, just lovely. I made an amazing trip to the ER to see your mom, I studied Spanish-"

"Studied Spanish?" She asked, looking at me perceptively. "And who helped you with that Spanish?" She asked with raised brows, looking between Jace and I suggestively.

She knew as well as everyone else in this class did that Jace was fluent in Spanish. I sighed, throwing a thumb over my shoulder towards Jace, knowing exactly where this was heading. She grinned.

"Oh?" I made a sound of agreement and Aline continued to from before going back to her seat, leaning over and talking to Helen Blackthorn.

I sighed and turned back to the front.

"Well, she's nosy," Jace observed with a raised brow. I chuckled.

"Yeah. But she's nice. She's Sebastian's cousin," I informed him. He nodded, frowning slightly.

"I thought his family was in France," he said, sounding confused. I smiled slightly.

"Some of it is, some of it's here. He grew up in France with his dad, mom and her two sisters. When he was eight, his parents died and one of his mother's sisters took him in. The other one already had Aline-"

"And I was such a troublemaker she didn't want another one," Aline said cheerfully, popping back into the conversation.

"Pretty much," I teased with a grin. "And then Aline's mom and her sister moved here with Seb and Aline. Actually, they were the last new kids here before you." Jace smiled politely at Aline as she started to tell him about Seb's aunt-the one who hated everyone.

When I heard my name, I tuned back in.

"...start dating Clary?" I turned to Jace as he looked to Aline curiously.

She grinned at me mischievously. "Clary and my cousin started dating around...October?"

"September," I corrected, pulling the papers Jace and I had worked on out of my bag.

Aline nodded. "Right. They started dating in September. I don't know why. She could do so much better." Aline looked between Jace and I not so subtly. Jace grinned and winked at Aline.

"I'm working on that." I reached immediately with the papers, smacking him on top of the head as Aline laughed happily.

"Oh, good! My cousin is kind of a jerk. Clary's too sweet for him."

I scowled at Aline. "Would you stop trying to sabotage Sebastian and I's-"

"Miss Penhallow, take your seat," Mr. Whitelaw called as he stepped into the room, seconds before the bell rang. I rolled my eyes as Jace elbowed my side playfully.

"Aline doesn't like you, I take it?" I raised my brows at him.

"No, she likes me fine. She likes her cousin too. She just doesn't like us together I guess," I explained in a whisper as Mr. Whitelaw started role call. "She's always been like that. He came up to me the day she found out we were dating and told me that I should break up with him. She's the only one who doesn't like us dating."

Jace raised a brow at me. "You can add me to that list." I rolled my eyes and turned to the teacher, calling out a 'here' when he called my name. He looked up with a raised brow at my voice and I smiled back at him.

"Do you have the papers I had Mr. Lightwood help you with?" I blushed.

Way to call it out in the middle of a full classroom. I held up the papers and he walked over briskly, taking the papers from me and walking back to his desk.

I scowled at his back as he did, wiping the expression away promptly when he turned back around. I heard Jace smother a laugh and couldn't help a smile myself.

In science, I was basically a floater. I didn't really have close friends in the class so I flirted around from partner to partner, whoever needed one.

And of course, on the first day back from suspension, I was faced with being the lab partner of the person who'd caused my punishment in the first place.

Mr. Fairchild said he was just doing what was needed-Raphael's lab partner wasn't there today-but I think he was really just as thirsty to see a fight as the students here.

I spent the whole first half of the period just doing the lab assigned, ignoring Raphael's attempts to start a conversation. Although, I did notice that his nose seemed a bit more crooked now. I made a mental note to give my brother a high five.

Finally, when he apparently tired of my ignoring him, he grabbed my wrist-my good one. I snatched it away, giving him the nastiest look if ever given anyone.

"Get away from me," I snarled. The other students in the class, who had already been not so discreetly watching us, leaned closer and hushed themselves.

Raphael held his hands up in surrender, as though he'd been completely innocent. I just turned my back on him, containing myself by remembering that I couldn't punch him with a sprained wrist.

I moved to pour a vial of vinegar into the unknown chemical when Raphael spoke up again.

"Don't worry, princess. Nobody would dare lay a hand on you with your three watchdogs hanging around," Raphael said, his tone mocking.

"That's funny, because you just did," I snapped back. "And what do you mean 'three watchdogs'?"

I could grasp the basic meaning of what he was saying. Three people had threatened him or said something to him about what he'd said to and about me. I could imagine two were Jon and Seb, but who else was he talking about?

Raphael smirked. "Oh, you don't know? Your brother and your two boyfriends came up to Zeke and I a few days ago. Threatened us, told us not to go anywhere near you. All separately of course. I'm sure none of them knew about the others."

I frowned at him. "Okay, I get that Jon and Sebastian threatened you, but who else? Sebastian is my only boyfriend," I snapped. He smirked.

"You might want to tell the new kid that-Jace? He seems to think you're his business." I scowled at him and turned away, set on ignoring him now.

But I couldn't get past what he'd told me. I wasn't surprised that Jon and Seb had said something to him, even threatened him. But Jace? Why would he have done it? I wasn't his sister and I wasn't his girlfriend-however much he seemed to wish I was. I tried to force it to the back of my mind, but the experiment was so mind-numbing that it didn't take up enough concentration to distract me from my thoughts.

"You know though," Raphael began. "With one watchdog away in a different country and another not really a part of your life as much as he seems to think, I don't think I'd have too much to worry about were I to...try something."

He'd gotten closer as he spoke and I twisted away from him when he stood behind me, running a hand down my arm. "Get your hands off of me," I growled, walking around to the opposite side of the lab table. "I don't need someone to protect me. I could handle you myself," I couldn't resist adding, even though it was obviously a lie.

Raphael laughed and gestured to the splint on my arm-the one that came off tomorrow after school. "Oh, really? For some reason, I doubt that." I gave him the harshest glare I could manage, just as the bell rang to signal the end of class.

"We'll pick up the experiments where we left off tomorrow," Mr. Fairchild called out. "Have a good day, everyone."

"See you later, Princess," Raphael said, laughing mockingly as he brushed by me towards the door.

I glared after him and put away all the lab supplies before exiting the room, a huge chip on my shoulder for the rest of the day.

I never asked Jace about what he'd said to Raphael. The way I saw it, he'd just been standing up for me. What reason did I have to be angry with him?

But he continued to come over every day, a few hours after school got out, and helped me with Spanish.

On Wednesday, I got my splint off and couldn't have been happier. Naturally, Jace tried to use it to his advantage. He'd joked that holding somebody's hand would help with building strength back up. I hadn't believed him, of course, but he was set on trying to make me believe him.

The next day, the day before Seb was supposed to come back, he called. It was seven at night, which was odd since it meant he was calling me at one in the morning there.

I'd picked up anyway. It'd all been going fine until it was towards the end of the conversation. He had said something, I don't really remember what, but it had made me laugh.

"I miss your laugh," he'd said, sounding wistful. I chuckled.

"It's not really something you should miss. Oh jeez, I was laughing at something Jace said the other day in Spanish, and Aline-"

"Jace?" He snapped, his voice hard. I rubbed a hand down my face tiredly, feeling like an idiot. How had I slipped up like that?

"Yeah," I said calmly, although the hand I held my phone in shook.

"Clary, you know how I feel when you talk to or about that prick," he growled out. I clenched my jaw in irritation.

"Yes, I do," I said, feeling my heart beat faster, my fingers clenching the phone tightly. "I just don't particularly care."

Silence stretched out between us for what felt like a year. "Excuse me?" He finally said, his voice deadly quiet. I dug my nails into my palm, steeling myself to say what I'd been thinking for weeks.

"What you want isn't always reasonable, Sebastian. I'm not going to completely disregard someone from my life just because you think I should. I already did that once with Simon and I'm not doing it again."

I could imagine how his jaw would be clenched right now, his hand reaching to wrap around my wrist the way it did when he was upset.

"I wasn't at fault for what happened with Simon." His voice was barely contained, the rage simmering under his seemingly reasonable words.

"Bullshit," I said quietly. "And you're not wrecking another one of my friendships,"

"I'm not just trying to wreck your friendships! I'm trying to save our relationship. I'm keeping you from being tempted to cheat," he snarled, finally releasing the anger he had been holding back.

"I'm not cheating on you!" I finally cried. "Jesus, Seb! You did this with Simon too! You act like I can't be trusted, like I'm a pet you need to keep on a short leash! It's like you think I'm going to screw everyone I meet!"

"Well, what am I supposed to expect from a whore like you?"

I froze, the phone still to my ear. After a long moment of silence, I was still too shocked to say anything. Me? A whore? "How dare you say that to me," I said, my voice quiet. I was afraid to raise it, sure I would burst into tears. Sebastian suddenly seemed to realize his mistake.

"Clary, I didn't mean that, I wasn't thinking, I just-" I pulled the phone from my ear, feeling numb. I hit the red button to end the call.

His protests were cut off and I was plunged into the type of silence that seemed to press down on you, stealing your air. Jon wasn't here to play his music, and I'd shut the TV off to hear Seb better.

I just stared blankly at the wall for a minute before throwing my phone across the room. As it clattered to the floor, bouncing off the wall, I couldn't remember telling my body to do that. What had that accomplished? It didn't take away what Sebastian had said.

It didn't make my chest stop hurting, didn't make my lungs work easier as I gasped, trying to force back my tears.

Had he really said that to me? Had he really called me that? After everything, all the times he'd called me the very opposite when I refused him?

I heard a knock on the door and stood up, feeling like I was on autopilot. I walked to the door and pulled it open. Jace stood there, a bag slung over his shoulder. He was smiling until he caught sight of me.

"Clary," he said, his voice sounding alarmed. "What's wrong?" He reached forward and, my thoughts still muddled, I jerked my hands back, away from him.

But he wasn't Sebastian, and he wasn't here to hurt me. It hadn't even occurred to me that I shouldn't answer the door with tears still leaking from my eyes. I hadn't even thought about it until Jace reached out, running his hand along my cheek bone.

"I'm fine. Just...forgot to take my bitch pills," I joked weakly, stepping back to let him in.

He gave me a smile in response as weak as the joke had been, but he didn't press me.

I walked back over to the couch and sat down, pulling my knees up to my chest. Jace was walking to the couch when he stopped, looking down at something in confusion. He bent over and when he stood up again, he looked at me questioningly but didn't ask anything, just walked over and set the phone down on the table beside me. He sat down beside me on the couch.

Slowly, he put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me to him. We sat in silence for a while, but it seemed less suffocating now. Now, if I listened close enough, I could hear little things that comforted me. I could hear Jace's steady breathing, his heart beating in his chest.

"He called me a whore," I whispered. Jace looked down at me in surprise.

"What? Who?"

"Seb," I choked out. "We were arguing again and he hinted around that he thought I was cheating on him," I explained. "I asked him if here really thought I would cheat and he said 'what am I supposed to expect from a whore like you?'."

I felt Jace tense, heard his teeth gritting together. "He's a lying dickhead," he snapped, looking at me seriously. "You're anything but a whore." A sob caught in my throat and he pulled me to him, pulling me against his chest.

"Why would he say that?" I choked out, clinging to the soft fabric of Jace's shirt like it was a life line. His hands ran up and down my back soothingly.

"Because he doesn't deserve what he has," he answered softly. I looked up at him and he reached for my cheeks softly. He rested a palm on one of my cheeks, running a thumb gently under my eye to catch a tear. "You're beautiful, funny, sweet, and everything he could never be. He doesn't know how to treat you the way you deserve to be treated. He doesn't know how to treat you right." I looked at him through watery eyes.

"Would you treat me right?" I asked, my voice almost non-existent. But he heard me.

His golden eyes widened but remained soft. "Of course I would, Clary. You deserve to be treated like a queen, not like a slave."

I'm not sure what I was doing when I looked up, resting my hands on his shoulders. Jace didn't move, his eyes flickering down to my lips.

Before either of us could even think to stop anything, my lips were on his, my fingers moving to tangle in his hair. He kissed back instantly and it felt like my lips were on fire against his. I moved closer to him as he rested his palms on my back.

He clutched me to him suddenly, and I was flush against his chest, our lips still locked.

When we finally pulled away from the kiss, our breath was short and I gasped quietly, feeling cold now that his lips were gone.

But this time, when I leaned forward again, he moved his hands to rest on my shoulders, holding me back from reaching his lips.

I looked away from him quickly, my eyes on the floor, and pulled away from him. My cheeks were flushed and my eyes stung. His rejection had hurt, whether it should have or not.

I heard my phone ringing from the side table and saw Sebastian's name flash on the screen. It reminded me that I had no right to feel hurt that Jace had pushed me away when he was the one doing what was right. But it did hurt.

Sebastian's words came rushing back and I felt warmth run down my cheeks again. I'd just proved him right. Jace clearly hadn't wanted that, but I'd still kissed him. While I was dating Sebastian. I had just proved him right about everything. That I would cheat, that I was a whore. He was right.

"Clary," I heard Jace say, reaching out to put a hand on my shoulder. I looked to him, feeling miserable. He'd only done what was right, no matter how much it had hurt me. "I didn't stop you because I didn't want to kiss you. God, that's all I've wanted to do since I met you," he said, running a hand through his hair. "But you're upset, and you're not thinking clearly. I'm not going to take advantage of you like that."

I looked at him through eyes blurred with tears. "He's right," I whispered, putting my feet on the ground. I stood up and Jace grabbed my hand, pulling me back down. He put his hands on my cheeks and turned me to face him.

"What do you mean, 'he's right'?" I lowered my eyes to the couch cushion, unable to hold his gaze.

"He's right about everything. I am a whore."

Suddenly, his hands had moved from my face to my shoulders, pulling me closer to him. His golden eyes looked down on my green ones seriously.

"Clary, you are not a whore. You're-"

"If I'm not a whore, then why did I kiss you? Why did I do that while I'm dating someone else? And why do I let you flirt with me? And why does my heart do a little happy flip every time you do?" Jace looked at me in shock.

"That doesn't make you a whore," he said quietly. "It makes you a human being who has feelings for someone."

My voice broke as I replied. "I should feel like that for Sebastian, not you."

Jace laughed bitterly. "Why should you? He treats you like his own personal property. Why should you have feelings for someone like that?"

I couldn't think of a response to that, so I just stayed quiet. Jace sighed. "Come here," he said softly, pulling me into his side. My phone rang again and I flinched, the guilt like a whiplash.

Jace reached over me and grabbed my phone, turning it to silent and setting it back down. Then he grabbed the TV remote and shifted so that he was resting back against the arm of the couch and I was sitting in the space between his legs, my back against his chest.

"What do you want to watch?" He asked. I tipped my head back to look at him.

"I recorded the second Transformers last night." I saw him grin widely and frowned in confusion.

"Second Transformers it is."

**Let there be Clace! :D so I think only one person guessed that would happen-that Clary would kiss Jace before she and Seb were actually over. **

**Also, there was a bit of Jace's point of view in there. Later in the story there will be Jon's point of view too, and maybe Sebastian's although I'm a little unsure about that. It'd be kinda hard to get into that lunatic's head, so I'm not sure about that yet. **

**And guys! The reviews on this story have gone over 200 now! You are all freaking amazing! Thank you so much! Your support means everything to me and I can't thank you enough for all your kind words, your awesome theories, your constructive criticism, everything!**

** It means the world to me. **

**-Cassidy ❤️**


	10. Chapter 10

**I apologize for the longish wait for this chapter :( but soccer started one the 18th an ughhh I'm always so damn tired after practice that I can't properly function until I've had a looong nap. **

**But here's this chapter, hope you enjoy :)**

****possible M-rated material towards the end. I'm not sure if it actually is-I don't think so but just to be safe. I'm not really sure where the lines are drawn between T and M so...**

I fell asleep halfway through the second Transformers movie. When I woke up, Jace was still there but a different movie was playing. The clock read one fifty.

"Jace," I said sleepily, drawing his attention. He looked at me with a little smile. "Why are you still here? It's past midnight."

He shrugged. "I wanted to make sure you were okay," he said. He reached over and pushed a strand of hair off of my forehead, his fingers gentle as they brushed against my skin.

It was a softness that I wasn't used to. Sebastian tended to forget I was a person and treat me more like an object than a human. Even when my wrist had been in a splint, he hadn't seemed to realize that I was breakable.

But Jace always treated me like a person. He did things like staying up at two in the morning to make sure I was okay. And he was never rough with me. He was gentle and kind.

I moved over hesitantly, leaning against Jace. He shifted a little, moving his arm so that it was around my shoulders.

"Good thing your brother isn't here. I think he might have slaughtered me if he showed up while you were sleeping," he joked, resting his cheek against the top of my head. I chuckled.

"Yeah, and I probably would have slept through it," I admitted.

I sighed, rubbing the side of my face.

"I hate crying. My face gets all red, my eyes hurt and my head hurts," I complained, closing my aching eyes.

"If you don't like crying, you shouldn't date someone who makes you cry every other day," Jace said, his voice a little colder.

I looked at the ground with a sigh. "He didn't used to," I said quietly. "He used to be the perfect boyfriend. I guess he changed a bit since we started dating," I admitted.

Jace rubbed a hand softly against my shoulder. "He takes advantage of the fact that he has you. He thinks that now he can treat you however he wants because you're already his." Jace's voice had become angry. "And you've let him."

I clenched my jaw against the tears I could feel stinging the back of my eyes. "I know that. But I just need to talk to him. He still loves me, he just, he-" I broke off, unsure what I was trying to say.

For the past week my motto has been 'he loves me, he acts like this because he loves me'. But I knew how foolish and naïve that sounded.

"Why would someone who loves you tell you you're anything but perfect the way you are? Why would they-"

I scoffed, cutting him off. "Please. People aren't perfect, and I definitely don't look perfect. He tells me I'm not perfect because he's honest with me."

"You think that's honesty?" Jace burst out. I flinched at his tone and he sighed, lowering his voice again. "I didn't mean that you're perfect. Nobody is, I know that. But that doesn't mean you're not beautiful, Clary. And he has no right to tell you that you're not good enough for him, that you need to stop eating for him. And he has no right to call you a whore. Loving someone isn't an excuse to be cruel to them, to hurt them or own them. Loving someone is wanting to be around them because of them, of who they are. It's wanting them safe and protected from everyone, including yourself. Especially yourself. Why would you want to hurt someone you love?"

I blinked back tears as I looked up at Jace. "I don't know," I choked out. "I don't know how he thinks."

Jace just held me to him tighter, apparently deciding a change in topic was in order. "On a scale of one to ten, being completely serious, how likely is your brother to kill me if he got back right now?" I laughed quietly.

"Depends on what you'd say if he did. If you immediately stood up and started making excuses, it'd be a ten. If you say that you're here because Seb and I fought and you were being a shoulder to cry on-yeah, never mind. Probably still a ten." Jace's eyes widened a little.

"Oh. Well, that's encouraging. Is there any way I could lower that number to around, you know, a healthier six?" I smiled.

"Maybe if you're not here when he gets home," I admitted.

"Ten it is," he said. I frowned up at him. He shrugged. "I accept my fate. I'm not leaving, so death it is." I rolled my eyes at him.

"You're over dramatic," I pointed out.

He smiled, twisting a strand of my hair around his fingers.

"No, I'm honorable," he argued.

I smiled at him. "Okay. Whatever you say. Seriously though, you probably shouldn't be here when Jon gets home."

He just shrugged. "I'll tell him I was helping you with Spanish," he said, leaning his face down closer to mine.

I didn't move away from him, even though I knew I should. "At two in the morning?" I asked, my voice low. "Why do I get the feeling that won't take the chance of you being murdered down to a 'healthy six'?" Jace gave me a crooked grin.

"It most likely wouldn't. But it would confuse him enough that I have time to run." I laughed, reaching a hand up and resting it on his shoulder.

"Uh-huh," I said with a teasing grin. "You're the definition of honorable right there."

I leaned away from him just long enough to grab my phone. My heart immediately dropped, my smile fading in the blink of an eye.

At the top of my long list of alerts was Sebastian's name with 'missed call (8)' beside it.

He'd called me eight times? Was he crazy? You'd think, after the first, I don't know, three calls he'd have gotten the hint that I didn't want to talk to him.

There was a long list of texts as well. I scoffed as I skimmed over them. Half of them were apologizing and the other half, the most recent ones, were cursing at me for ignoring him.

"Damn, I don't think I've ever even heard that one," Jace commented as he looked over my shoulder at the vulgar words in the messages. I scowled at him and shut the screen on my phone off. "Sorry," he said, holding his hands up in surrender. "I was just curious."

"Nosy is more like it," I muttered. Jace just smirked.

I sighed, putting my phone back where I'd gotten it from. I looked warily at Jace as he looked at his own phone, cursing under his breath. He looked up at me apologetically.

"Izzy is freaking out. She wants to know where I am," he said, trailing off and giving me a questioning look. I frowned.

"So tell her," I said obviously. He raised a light brow at me.

"If I tell Isabelle that I'm at your house at two in the morning, she'll freak."

I sighed. "Would she really be angry?" He looked surprised.

"No. She'd be ecstatic," he said with a chuckle. I gave him a half smile.

"Go ahead and tell her. I don't mind," I said, seeing my phone screen light up again. I scowled and finally reached for it.

I was about to shut it down when I saw that the text I had gotten was from Jon, not Seb. I sighed, looking back to Jace as he texted his sister.

"Jace, Jon just texted. He's going to be back in half and hour. You should probably go." Jace looked reluctant.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" I smiled at him reassuringly.

"I'll have Jon here for me if I'm not," I told him. He still didn't look satisfied.

"But he doesn't know everything," Jace said confidently.

"I never said Jon doesn't know anything," I snapped. Jace narrowed his eyes at me.

"I may not know your brother all that well, but I've seen the way he reacts when someone mistreats you. I know for sure that he doesn't know anything about how Seb treats you. He wouldn't be breathing right now."

I looked at the ground. "Whatever," I muttered. Jace rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

"You know I'm right," he said, standing up and stretching his arms up over his head.

I looked up at him before standing myself. "Yeah, well you're not going to be breathing if you don't get out if here in about fifteen minutes," I reminded him. He grimaced.

"Fair enough," he said. We walked to the door together and he put his hand on the knob but was still facing me.

I felt my cheeks blush after a few seconds of an awkward silence. Neither one of us seemed sure what the proper goodbye would be.

Are you supposed to kiss the boy you cheated on your boyfriend with at the end of the night before you send him home? They need to write a manual on this.

Jace finally took the initiative and leaned towards me. For a minute, I thought he was going to kiss me. When he was close to my lips, my eyes fluttered shut, but his lips didn't reach mine. Instead, he pressed them softly to my cheek before pulling away.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he said quietly, before turning the knob and letting himself out. He waved once as he got into his car and I raised my hand in a weak wave before stepping out of the doorway, shutting the door and leaning back against it.

As soon as I realized I was alone, I was hit with a wave of apprehension and guilt.

What had I just done? Not just, though. It had been hours ago.

But, no matter the time frame, I had kissed Jace. I hadn't even just allowed him to kiss me. No. I had made the decision, I had leaned in first.

And when I had thought he was going to kiss me, I hadn't moved away. I had actually closed my eyes in anticipation. I groaned, slumping against the door.

I heard my phone ring again-I had turned the sound back on after Jon texted me-and it was like a stab to the chest. It was the ringtone I'd set for Seb.

Whatever Jace said, I had just done exactly what Seb had been accusing me of. I'd proved him right.

Whether our relationship was perfect or not, cheating on him wasn't a solution. Whether I was going to end the relationship or not-as I'd reasoned to myself after I'd first kissed Jace-I should have waited.

Why had I even kissed him? Because he was being nice? Because he cared for me? Magnus was nice, and I knew he cared for me and I wasn't kissing him whenever I got upset. So why was it different with Jace?

I finally stepped away from the door and dropped back onto the couch. I had exaggerated to Jace. He'd still had about twenty minutes before Jon said he would be here. And whenever Jon set a time, I always planned for an extra ten minutes before he actually arrived. He tended to be late.

I'd needed time. I hadn't wanted to see Jace leave, but I needed time to compose myself before my brother came in, or he would be able to tell right away that something was wrong.

I sighed, wondering if I should just go to my room, pretend to be asleep when he gets home. But I knew it was too late for that. I'd responded with a simple 'k' when he told me it'd be half an hour. He knew I was still awake.

I finally decided to actually get up after a few minutes. I could put on a happy face for a few minutes, couldn't I?

That idea ended when I saw the ice cream in the freezer. Screw putting on a happy face. I'm putting on my pissed face. It's Sebastian that cause all this. He wanted to call me a whore? Maybe he deserved it if I acted like one.

Or maybe that was just the gallon of chocolate ice cream talking.

Oh well. It felt good to be angry for once, instead of crying. So I dropped down on the couch and flipped to our Hulu, turning on an episode of Vampire Diaries.

I popped the lid off the new container before jabbing my spoon into the ice cream. I pulled a pillow onto my lap so the container didn't freeze my legs after throwing a blanket over my legs.

I was still viciously stabbing my spoon into the ice cream, shoveling it into my mouth, when the front door opened. Jon came in and looked at me warily when he saw me sitting on the couch.

"Um, you okay, Clare?" He asked, looking concerned. I nodded curtly.

"Fine," I snapped, driving my spoon down again. He looked at me for a second, a dubious look on his face. He didn't seem sure what to say as I turned back to the TV.

I felt as though the ice cream was the best thing I had ever tasted. I hadn't had ice cream in what felt like forever. It's definitely not a healthy choice of a snack. For a second, I froze with my spoon halfway to my mouth.

Why was I eating this? This wasn't going to help me get thinner. Then I grimaced in disgust. Disgust towards myself. Then I shoved the spoonful into my mouth. When did I start thinking like that? When had I started to give up eating things that I loved just to lose weight?

Well, screw losing weight. I refuse to be one of those girls that I never used to understand. Those girls who are so blind to the fact that they're fine the way they are that they don't eat, one of the most important life functions. I refuse to be anorexic.

"Clary, you're going to make yourself sick if you eat that any faster," Jon said worriedly. "Slow down and tell me what's got you so pissed. I swear, if it's Sebastian, I'll kick his ass." I scoffed.

"He's in France. Good luck," I snapped. Jon sighed, dropping his bag on the side table. My phone rang again and I scowled. "Can you shut that thing off?"

He looked wary but did what I asked. He didn't say anything else before walking out to the kitchen. When he came back, he had a spoon with him. He dropped down on the couch next to me and pulled the extra part of the blanket over his legs.

We sat together for three episodes of Vampire Diaries, eating ice cream with my head on his shoulder.

"Are you really okay, Clare?" He asked when the third episode ended. I shrugged, averting my eyes.

"I can't decide whether to be angry or upset," I admitted. Jon chuckled.

"It depends on what happened," he said. "I can help you decide if I know what happened." I sighed, looking up at Jon.

"Sebastian's been being a jerk lately. He keeps picking fights just because I talk to Jace. And I think he's full of crap. Why shouldn't I be allowed to talk to guys? He talks to girls all the time." I left out the part where I had just given him a reason to not want me around Jace. Nobody had to know that.

Jon sighed, kissing the top of my head. "Clary, guys are idiots. Especially when they care a lot about someone. He's just worried that you're going to leave him so he-"

"I've never even thought about it," I argued. "Until this last week," I admitted, looking down at the almost empty container of ice cream.

I heard Jon suck in a breath. I knew why. If Seb and I broke up, how would that impact his and Jon's friendship?

"Clary," he said slowly. "What's this about? Because I know it's got to be more than just him being worried about you talking to other guys."

I glanced down at my wrist. I remembered the splint that had been there before. And the bruising. There wasn't any right now, but I knew that once Sebastian got back it would return. Then I looked at the ice cream. What would Seb do if he saw me eating it? He would tell me that I shouldn't eat for the next few days to make up for it. But he would say it in such a sugary sweet way that I didn't even realize that he was convincing me to starve myself.

I sighed. "I don't know," I lied. "I just...I don't know. Maybe it's just late and I'm tired and still a little upset that we fought earlier." I smiled at him reassuringly and he looked relieved.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." It wasn't the truth, but it was the answer he wanted.

The next day was a whirl of action. Jon and I went to school like normal in the morning, but our emotions were both running high. It should've been for the same reason. But it wasn't.

Jon was excited and anxious because Sebastian was coming back today. I was just anxious that he was coming back. Anxious and kind of terrified. His texts had gotten progressively more angry and less apologetic throughout the night.

And I knew he was coming over after school. And I was scared. It was a bad feeling. I couldn't remember ever being so afraid of him.

And, I was afraid to see Jace. I didn't know how I was supposed to act around him. Was I supposed to pretend we hadn't kissed? He knew he couldn't bring it up in front of anyone, right? My stomach was twisted into a painful knot and I felt like I was going to be sick by the time we got to the school.

Jon must have noticed because when he parked the car, he didn't get out right away. "Clare?" He asked worriedly. "You look like you're going to be sick. Do you want to go back home?" I looked at him and slowly shook my head, smiling weakly.

"No, I'll be fine," I assured him. He didn't look convinced.

"Clary," he started. I sighed.

"Jon, it's nothing. Just nervous about seeing Seb again," I lied. He sighed, giving up.

Magnus met us on the lawn. He ruffled my hair and I scowled at him, dropping the smile I had given when I saw him. Magnus held his hands up in surrender. Jon rolled his eyes.

"She's PMSing," he said offe-handedly. "Ignore her."

"Jonathan Morgenstern," I snapped. He laughed and I saw Magnus grin.

"Well, it explains your ice cream and Vampire Diaries marathon last night," he defended. "And you looked like you were going to be sick earlier. Cramps," he reasoned. I looked at him incredulously as Magnus laughed.

"Why can't you be like normal guys and never want to talk about this? Every other guy I know would rather gouge their eyes out with a spoon than talk about this. Hell, Sebastian is scared to death of the word 'tampon'. Yet you sit here and tell me that I'm on my period. Jeez, forget what I know about my body. I'm just going to ask Jon when my period is next time." I saw Jon and Magnus both struggle to hold in their laughter. They both failed and ended up doubled over, their shoulders shaking.

"Well, that's a little odd." I looked up at the sky, completely giving up.

"I quit," I groaned. I turned to look at Jace. "You and your sister both come into the conversation at the worst times." Then I scowled at the two boys who were still tying to compose themselves. "You two saw him there," I hissed suddenly. "That's why you're laughing so hard!" Jon grinned.

"Sorry, sis. It was too good to spoil by telling you he was there." I sighed.

"Jerk," I snapped, crossing my arms over my chest. Jon frowned.

"Oh, come on, Clare. We're just teasing," he said, walking over and pulling me into an unwilling bear hug. I grunted, trying to push him off of me.

"Get away from me, you disgusting creature." He just laughed. He didn't let me go until I hugged him back. When he stepped away, I swatted his chest irritably. "I don't like you anymore." Jon rolled his eyes.

"Okay. Guess you don't get your birthday present," he taunted. I narrowed my eyes.

Jace chuckled when I didn't say anything. I scowled at him from the corner of my eyes. "Not funny," I said to all three of the boys. Jon just smirked. All of them stared at me, waiting for me to speak.

I sighed. This was going to hurt.

"I'm sorry, Jon. I don't hate you," I apologized through gritted teeth. He raised a brow tauntingly.

"And...?" I scowled.

"What do you mean 'and'? I apologized, didn't I?" Jon just raised a brow. I groaned.

"And, you're the best brother in the world, and I love you?"

"There ya go," he said, ruffling my hair. I scowled at him but didn't say anything.

He chuckled as I began to walk away.

"I do believe I've injured her pride," he joked. I heard Magnus and Jace chuckle. I flipped them off over my shoulder, to their immense amusement.

Jace was still chuckling when he caught up to me.

I scowled at him out of the corner of my eyes. He just kept grinning. "You two are funny," he commented. I huffed.

"He likes to think he is," I responded. Jace just shook his head, letting it go.

"You didn't tell me your birthday is coming up." I looked at him fully now, frowning as we walked towards the school building.

"Should I have?"

"Uh, yeah," he said obviously. "How was I supposed to get you anything if Jon hadn't just mentioned it? Your birthday is Sunday!" I looked at him in surprise.

"What do you mean? You don't need to. You've only known me for a little bit," I pointed out.

He just shook his head. "I'm getting you something," he said determinedly. I just sighed in resignation. Partly, because it didn't seem like I would be able to convince him otherwise, and partly, because I was curious to see what he would get me.

We walked through the halls until we reached my locker. He stopped with me and I looked at him oddly.

"What?" He asked defensively.

"What..." I trailed off, searching for a way to phrase my question. "Why are you acting like this?"

Jace raised a brow at me, leaning against the locker beside mine. "Like what?"

"Like...I don't know, like we're dating. You want to buy me a present, you're walking to my locker with me." He chuckled.

"I've seen you walk to your locker with Magnus. And I'm sure he's getting you a preset for your birthday." I twisted my mouth to the side, having no argument for that. He leaned towards me so that he could speak low enough not to be overheard. "If you think I'm only acting like this because of last night, you're wrong. I would've acted the same way around you whether you'd kissed me or not." I blushed, looking at the ground. "And I understand if you regret it," he added quietly. I saw him looking away this time, his face tight as if in pain. "Just tell me, so I don't get my hopes up. I know you were upset and I won't blame you."

I looked at him in shock for a moment, completely blanking. I had no idea how to respond to that. I stuttered for a moment before going silent again. Jace gave me a calming smile.

"I feel awful," I finally blurted out. "You're so nice to me and you always know what to say and I've got no idea what should come out of my mouth or what might because I have no filter and no thought process and I have no idea what to say right now." Jace's brows had raised through my outburst and he chuckled, looking away from me.

"Take your time. Just give yourself some time to think about it, okay? I'll be here for you, whatever you decide." I nodded slowly and he smiled, resting his hand on my shoulder for a second before turning and walking back the way we'd come.

I banged my head against my locker door once before leaving it there, my eyes closed. What was wrong with me? Why can't I do anything right?

"Biscuit? You okay?" I looked up at Magnus for a second before dropping my head back to my locker. I nodded, muttering a 'fine'.

Then I bit my lip. Out of every one of my friends, I was sure that Magnus would be most likely to keep a secret if I needed him too. And he was good at advice.

I looked at him warily. "If I tell you something, will you swear not to tell anyone else? And I mean, really swear. Like you can't tell anyone. It could destroy everything worse than I already have." He gave me a completely serious look.

"Of course. I swear, I won't tell a soul." I swallowed thickly.

"You're sure? No matter what?" His brows were furrowed together in concern.

"Clary, what's wrong?" Then his eyes widened and he leaned towards me. "Are you pregnant?"

"No!" I shouted quickly. Then I sighed. "At least it's not that bad," I said, feeling a little relieved.

That would probably be the worst thing I could've told him-at this age at least-and he'd still whispered. So maybe he wouldn't start shrieking if I told him what Jace and I had done.

Magnus looked a little relieved. "Good. I'm too young and beautiful to be a godparent." I chuckled, then got serious again.

"I think you might hate me after I tell you this," I said, tugging on a handful of my hair stressfully. Magnus looked worried.

"Hate you?" He was cut off by the warning bell. "Clary, no matter what, I wouldn't hate you." I bit my lip and turned to my locker, opening it quickly.

"Never mind. I-It's nothing." I gave him a weak smile. "It's just a little thing. I'm overreacting." He looked disbelieving.

"After all that? No, there's something going on, Clary. What is it?"

"I have to get to class." I grabbed my books, shut my locker and almost sprinted down the hall, Magnus calling my name after me.

All through English, my mind was wandering. I couldn't focus on the teacher, who was assigning us the romance project today. Towards the end of class, I felt a hand on my arm. I looked over to Izzy, blinking myself out of my haze. "What?" I asked her.

She gave me a concerned look. "I asked if we were still partnering up for this. We're supposed to get with our partner." I nodded quickly

"Of corse. Sorry, I was distracted."

"I noticed," she said with a frown. "Are you okay?" I nearly cursed aloud. I was slipping today. My emotional state wasn't allowing me to hide anything.

"Yeah," I said with a fake smile. "I'm fine." She didn't look convinced.

"You're a shitty actress." I blinked at how blunt she was.

"Um. Thanks?" She sighed.

"I'm sorry. But I know something's up." She looked at me knowingly.

"Jace told you, didn't he?" She raised a brow. I groaned.

"You think he'd know what to keep secret. You can't tell anyone about it, okay?"

"Of corse," she said. "But I don't see why it's so important-"

"Because of Sebastian," I whispered, looking around to make sure nobody was paying attention. "If he found out that Jace and I kissed-"

"You WHAT?" Izzy shrieked, sitting up straight in her seat. My jaw dropped.

"You said you knew!"

"Ladies! Is there something you want to share with the class?"

"No," I squeaked, seeing Isabelle still staring at me with an open mouth. The teacher didn't look convinced, but went back to her desk anyway.

"That's not what I knew," she said, her brown eyes wide. "You two kissed?" I bit my lip, feeling fear build up in my chest.

"You can't tell anyone," I pleaded. "Please."

"You aren't broken up with Sebastian?" I shook my head.

"No. I-we fought last night right before Jace came over. I was crying and he was talking to me and..." I trailed off, looking at the ground.

"He kissed you? Really? When you were that upset? That doesn't sound like him." We were both whispering and I kept looking around to make sure nobody was listening. They were all chatting loudly with their partners. We weren't even noticeable.

"No. I kissed him," I admitted. Isabelle grinned.

"You like him!" I blushed, looking around again.

"I don't know. Either way, I'm still dating Sebastian." She looked crestfallen, which surprised me.

"You don't have to be," she said. "Date Jace." I frowned.

"You're telling me to date your brother?"

"Yeah, why not? He's funny and nice and-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Last week you were telling me that your brothers were assholes." She shrugged.

"They are until you get to know them. Do you really think Jace is an asshole now that you've gotten to know him?" I sighed and she smiled, knowing she'd won that one.

"No. Of corse he's not. Maybe if he was, I wouldn't feel bad about everything." Izzy looked confused.

"Everything?" I sighed, running a hand through my hair.

"He asked me today if I regretted it, and I didn't give him an answer. I couldn't. I didn't know what I was thinking, let alone what I could say. I still don't know what I'm thinking."

"Do you love Sebastian?" I blinked at her in surprise.

"What does that have to do-"

"Do you?"

"I-of course I do. He's my boyfriend." She shook her head, her hair slipping over her shoulder.

"No. Don't think about what you should say or what you would say if he asked. Say what you feel towards him." I frowned.

Did I love Sebastian? I know that I did at some point, but do I still? After the way he'd been treating me lately?

"I don't know," I said with a sigh. Isabelle looked at me sadly.

"You shouldn't. After what he's done to you-"

"What do you mean?" I asked sharply. I saw her freeze for a second. I could see the same look on her face that I'd had moments before. The 'oh no. I shouldn't have said that' look. I'd become way too familiar with it in the past week.

"Uh, I uh..." She finally sighed in resignation. "It's what Jace told me that I thought you were talking about. He told me that Sebastian treats you like crap. He said you don't eat because of him, which is so stupid because you're just skin and bones and if you lose any more weight, you're just going to waste away." I blinked, taking a moment to process what she'd said. She'd said it all in one big rush and it was hard to comprehend. But I got the basic gist of it.

"He told you that?" She bit her lip.

"Don't be angry with him. He tells me everything. And I pretty much forced it out of him. And I already knew there was something up with you two-"

"That doesn't matter," I said sharply. "He should have known not to tell you something like that. It's personal and I shouldn't have even told him. And you know what," I continued, my voice raising a little above the whisper it'd been. "I DIDNT tell him. I told him I didn't eat much because I wanted to be thinner. Have either of you stopped to think that maybe it has nothing to do with Sebastian?" Before she could respond, the bell rang.

How's that for perfect luck? I hadn't had a lot if that lately and I was thankful for it now. I stood up quickly and stormed from the room. For the second time that day, I ignored the person calling my name behind me.

I got to Spanish early since I'd kept up a fast pace throughout the walk there. I was the first one in and Mr. Whitelaw raised his brows at me.

"Early today, Clarissa," he commented. I just nodded, smiling politely and hoping he would leave me alone. I wasn't in the mood today to pretend to be cheerful with the teachers. He had other ideas.

"How has your tutoring been going? Has Jace's help been valuable?"

I smiled. "Yeah. I think I'm getting the hang of that RID thing." He nodded enthusiastically.

"Good, good. So, are you ready for the test on Tuesday?" I cringed inside but nodded outside.

Just tell him what he wants to hear and he'll leave you alone...

"I'm pretty confident about it."

"Good." Just then, more students began to trickle in. Thank god!

But that also meant that Jace would be in soon. And I still had no idea what I was going to say to him. I scowled at the far wall, everything I could say rushing through my mind. Finally, I gave up. Screw it, I would wing it.

When he finally came in, he was wary. He sat down slowly, watching me like someone might watch a dog that was prone to bite.

"Hi," he said, a bit meekly. I bit my tongue, looking down at my binder.

Okay, maybe just winging it wouldn't be wise since what I'd almost said was a big 'eff you'.

"Hi," I snapped back, still not looking at him. I heard him sigh.

"Clary," he started. I turned to him finally, my eyes sparking angrily.

"Did she warn you?" He nodded slowly, looking apologetic.

"I'm sorry, I-"

"Don't even start with the apologies, Jace," I snapped quickly. "I told you the things I did in confidence, expecting you to know how to keep it to yourself. How would you like if I told Jon what your names are about, Jonathan?" I saw his eyes flash as I used that name. I continued before he could say anything. "That was the deal wasn't it? Question for a question, secret for a secret? You turned around and spilled mine and then I told you more, thinking I could trust you. And now I have to trust you with the secret that could ruin my relati-" suddenly, there was a hand clapped over my mouth. Jace's golden eyes were hard as he leaned towards me.

"Do you really want to spill that secret here?" His eyes, although angry, were urging me to remain quiet as he removed his hand from my mouth.

I looked around, my cheeks bright and hot as I realized that every student in the room was watching us openly. Even Mr. Whitelaw was watching, although he was pretending not to. He had a tiny smile on his face as he noticed me watching him.

Sadist.

I slunk down in my seat, shooting Jace one last nasty look before looking down at the paper Mr. Whitelaw was handing out.

If there had been any prior doubt that he was a sadist, it was gone now. The headline for the paper?

RID PARTNER PROJECT

Needless to say, I was a bit angry by the time I made it to science.

Raphael immediately started in on me when I made it to our lab station.

"Hey, Sweetheart," he greeted, winking at me. I made a disgusted noise in the back of my throat, turning away from the dark-skinned boy.

"Giving me the cold shoulder again, are you?"

I scowled at him. "I'm not in the mood," I growled.

He chuckled richly, leaning across the table towards me. "Wanna talk about it?"

I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "If I wanted to talk about my feelings, I would go to a therapist. Not some scumbag with a crooked nose," I said pointedly.

He screwed his face up in anger, reaching a hand towards my arm.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" I asked, my voice deadly. His hand froze in the air between us.

His lips were twisted up in a challenging smirk. "Oh, I'm sure." Then his fingers wrapped around my wrist, jerking me towards him.

When I was pulled into his chest, I immediately shoved him away from me. He fingers didn't loosen their hold on my wrists, but I had created space between us.

"Get your hands off of me." When he didn't move, I lashed out with a leg, smashing my flip-flop clad foot into his shin.

He winced slightly, but chuckled as I did the same. I scowled at him.

"I'm giving you one last opportunity to leave me alone before I leave this class right now and go get Jon from his English class."

"And how are you going to leave if I don't let you go?"

I was at a loss as he tugged me closer, nearly knocking me off my feet with the force.

"Get away from her, Raphael," I heard someone say, the voice sounding tired. "Do you really want Morgenstern and Verlac on your ass?" The boy's dark eyes skipped over my shoulder towards the voice, anger burning in them even as he released his fingers from their death grip on my wrists.

I stumbled back immediately, my eyes and cheeks burning in humiliation as I realized that the entire class was staring at us. I was trembling as I raised a hand, prepared to slap Raphael across the face. Suddenly, just as I started to swing my hand, another larger one had grabbed it, pulling it down to my side.

"Don't," the voice said. "You'll just get into more trouble. The asshole's not worth it."

I turned my back on Raphael, the reason behind the boy's words swirling around in my head. It was the only thing I could latch onto. Any other thought was purely instinctual reaction. I was running on basic survival instinct, my mind beginning to become fuzzy as spots appeared before my eyes, blocking me from seeing who the boy was. When he spoke, his voice was warped as though underwater.

"...you okay?" I didn't respond, no longer able to see anything. My mind was running slowly.

I barely processed the sting in my knees as I hit the tiled floor of the science room, hearing the horrified cries of other students as I hit the ground. I didn't register any pain in my head and wondered vaguely if someone had caught it.

"...Jonathan?" I tuned into the sounds around me in time to hear my brother's name.

"Call him," I heard someone say, a moment of clarity among the chaotic numbness in my brain.

Then I succumbed to an odd feeling. I could no longer see or feel or hear anything going on around me, although I was certain I hadn't closed my eyes.

I wasn't really unconscious in the sense that I didn't feel as though I was sleeping. I wasn't asleep. I was just numb to everything around me, unaware.

A part of me rejoiced in this sudden freedom. I didn't have to worry about anything, nobody was stressing me out or lying to me or hurting me. But another part of me was terrified to be stuck with my thoughts.

Everything was tearing me in separate directions. I wanted to linger over Jace, over Seb, over everything. But my mind could only give my full attention to one thing.

So I picked one, settling on Jace. I imagined him standing before me, his beautiful eyes shining in the sun, his lips turned up in a sincere smile as he looked on at me fondly. His chipped tooth, an incisor, was endearingly visible when he smiled like that.

Jace, I thought longingly. The boy who cared more about me than my own boyfriend, the one who was so observant that he noticed things my own brother never could have. I remembered suddenly that I was supposed to be angry with him. But for what? A silly little thing. All he'd done was exactly what I would have were our positions reversed.

He told his closest friend, the person he could trust most. Would I have kept it secret if he was in my position? I brushed that question away. It was a pointless thought. He'd never be in my position. He's too smart and too strong to end up where I was.

But he's also gorgeous, which would help protect him from where I was. He has no reason to be anything but overconfident. He doesn't have to wonder if he's good enough or if he looks good, because he always does.

So how would he understand? How would the most perfect person on the planet understand the worries of someone who was completely ordinary?

It was like expecting a king to understand why his servants were unhappy with the world.

And dating Sebastian was like living under a king as well. He called the shots, he set the rules.

He talked to me how he wanted and treated me how he wanted. He sat up on his golden throne with me bowed at his feet like a slave. And I did whatever he wanted like one.

If I'd been conscious, I would've laughed at the irony. Even though I was part of perhaps one of the highest social classes in this town, I was a slave in my own life and relationship.

How had that happened?

Jon would shove my head in a toilet if he knew how I let his best friend treat me. After he killed him, of course.

But what could I do about it? I hadn't even really realized anything was wrong until Jace came into the picture. How could I explain where my sudden volatile change in feelings without making it seem like I was only feeling that way because of Jace? And how could I possibly explain to Jon why Seb and I broke up without breaking their friendship up?

I knew that no matter what I did, I couldn't tell Jon anything that would make him hate Sebastian. I couldn't break up their friendship. It wouldn't be fair for Jon to lose his best friend because of me.

Was I really thinking of leaving Sebastian anyway? He had his faults, but so did everyone. Maybe if I stopped acting like a slave, he would stop treating me like one. And maybe if I didn't act like a whore, he would be able to trust me for once.

That brought my thoughts back to Jace, making a complete circle. Why had I kissed him? Did I feel something for him? That was a stupid question. Of course I did. He was ridiculously attractive, sweet and funny. And he was taking an interest in me, which thrilled me. To have a guy as amazing as him pursuing me? Shit, that was every teenage girl's dream.

And he'd been so caring last night when he saw I was upset. He'd genuinely seemed to want to make sure I was okay.

But why? There was an instant distrust problem that had been shoved to the back of my mind last night. Why was Jace so interested in me? I couldn't understand what drew him to me. Sebastian had known me for so long as Jon's little sister that I guess he'd grown to love me as his girlfriend, but Jace had only known me for about a week and I'd been kind of a psycho chick the whole time. So why was he chasing me when he could turn around and get any other girl in the school?

What was so special about me?

Was it only because I had a boyfriend? Because I was a challenge?

But that couldn't be it. Jace was better than that. He wouldn't use someone for his own personal gain.

I felt a detached sort of pain in my chest when I realized that I was the one using Jace. I'd kissed him because I was upset, because I'd wanted to feel that someone cared about me. I'd been hurting and I wanted someone to make me stop hurting or to at least distract me from it.

And I was being a hypocrite as well. I had yelled at Jace for spilling about Seb and I while I had been the one to tell Izzy about our kiss. Which secret was more important? Clearly, the kiss could be disastrous if it got out. I had spilled the bigger secret but I had yelled at him. I'd pushed the blame onto him just like Sebastian always did to me.

I had to apologize. I wouldn't act like Sebastian and I wouldn't make Jace think I was like him.

I didn't want anybody to think I was like him.

As it turned out, I was only out for a few minutes-not even long enough for them to get me to the nurse's office. I woke to a feeling of being jostled around in the air. Not a comfortable feeling to wake up to, let me tell you.

I shifted lethargically, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Stop it, before I drop you." I stopped moving, peeking my eyes open and looking up.

"Jon," I said, equally relieved and disappointed.

A part of me was glad it was my brother who was carrying me down an empty hallway but another part of me wanted to know who had been in the science room that had made Raphael back off.

Jon smiled down at me and I shifted again, trying to get him to put me down. He shook his head.

"Nope. If you're going to pass out in class, I'm carrying you to the nurse. You're not allowed to walk." I scowled at him.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously," he confirmed. I scoffed in irritation and he looked at me seriously.

"Clare, what happened? You've never fainted before. What was that?" I looked away, sure that the concern in his eyes would start to cause me physical pain if I looked at it any longer.

When I turned away, I saw that we were stepping into the nurse's office. Mrs. Branwell immediately stood up when she saw us.

"What happened?" She asked, her eyes a little wide.

"She passed out in science," Jon explained shortly. "That's all I know. The teacher had one of the students call my teacher to have me go get her."

The nurse nodded, her eyes no longer so wide. "Sit her down over there," she instructed, gesturing to one of the little beds against the wall. I frowned.

"I'm fine. I don't feel like I'm going to faint again," I assured them. The nurse shook her head, her brown hair falling a little out of its bun.

"It doesn't matter. I need to be sure your blood sugar isn't down for some reason and figure out what caused you to faint. You don't have any history of it?" Jon set me down on one of the beds, sitting down next to me himself.

"No, she's never fainted before," Jon answered. I scowled at him again.

"I can answer for myself," I snapped. He raised a brow at me.

"Well, have you?"

"No," I muttered. He smirked a little, ruffling my hair.

"What exactly happened? Do you have any idea why you fainted?" Mrs. Branwell asked, grabbing a towel and running water from the sink over it. I shook my head and then winced when I felt the room spin again. Jon put a hand on my shoulder, keeping me upright as I got my balance back.

"What the hell?" Jon asked, his voice raising slightly in worry. "Did you just almost pass out again?"

"No," I said quickly. "I just got a little dizzy. I shook my head too fast." He narrowed his eyes at me but didn't say anything as the nurse reached over and handed me the damp towel.

"Put this on your forehead and lay back." I did as she said, kicking Jon playfully when he didn't move quickly enough.

He pulled a chair over from in front of the desk and set it next to my bed, the nurse shooting him a disapproving look. She turned back to me without saying anything about it. "Walk me through what was going on before you fainted."

I sighed, knowing Jon would be pissed as I remembered Raphael's taunts. "My lab partner was being a jerk. He kept taunting me and he grabbed me by the wrist and-"

"Who?" Jon practically snarled. I looked at him calmly, hoping he could remain clam as well.

"Raphael."

"That little son of a bitch! I'll snap his scrawny ass neck for the way he's been talking to you. Nobody treats my little sister like that." He stood up angrily, shoving a hand through his hair. For a second, I thought that he was going to leave me to go beat Raphael to a pulp. Then, he sighed and fell back into the chair, grabbing my free hand. "I'll kill him later," he said, squeezing my hand. "For now, I'll stay here."

I smiled at him thankfully. I wouldn't admit it out loud-I would sound like a child-but I wanted my big brother with me right then.

"You injured yourself in a fight with him just last week didn't you?" She asked, looking suspicious. I frowned.

"Yeah. I don't get along with him." She sighed, resting her hands on her hips and stepping forward to stand beside me.

"Okay. So, he was provoking you? He was making you angry?" I nodded.

"He grabbed me by the wrists and wouldn't let me go." Realization dawned in her eyes.

"You were afraid then," she said with a twist of her mouth. I went to argue but she gave me a stern look and I sighed. Fine, I had been a tiny but afraid when I realized that he had no plans to let me go. But only a tiny bit. "Your emotions were running high because you were angry and scared. Has anything else happened recently that would cause your emotions to become unstable?" I bit my lip and shook my head.

"Bull," Jon snapped instantly. "You've been arguing with Sebastian all week and last night you were watching Vampire Diaries marathons and eating an entire tub of ice cream. Calling you emotionally stable would be like calling Hitler a really nice guy." I scowled at him.

"How about you mind your own business," I growled back. "I'm more stable than you'll ever be."

I heard a low chuckle from the doorway of the nurse's office and looked up. "She's got you there, Jon," Isabelle said. I frowned a little.

"What are you doing here?" She smiled.

"Making sure you're okay. I heard that you fainted." I sighed.

"I freaking hate the rumor mill in this school." The nurse cleared her throat to draw our attention, her eyes on me again.

"Fainting, or a syncope, could be caused by a lot of things. What I'm betting on is that it was a combination of things in your case. Your emotions were running high and you were afraid of Raphael. It could also be a nutrition problem. A lot of teenagers tend to skip breakfast. Did you eat anything this morning?" I frowned.

"No." She nodded.

"And you haven't had lunch yet. Did you have dinner last night?"

"Nothing other than some ice cream," I admitted. She narrowed her eyes.

"Yes. That could definitely induce a fainting spell. Lack of nutrition as well as emotional stress isn't your body's idea of healthy." I scowled down at my lap. I'd gone days without eating anything before. Why would I suddenly faint now? Maybe it really was all the fighting with Sebastian.

Now he was screwing with my health along with my mind.

"Could you two leave the room for a moment? I need to talk to Clary in privacy." I looked up in surprise along with Jon and Isabelle.

"What do you mean? Why do you need to talk to her in private? Is something wrong?" She rolled her eyes at him.

"Nothing wrong. Just a few questions about something she would surely not wish to talk about in front of her brother. Or any male for that matter." My cheeks heated up as Jon grimaced.

"Okay, I get it. Tampon talk. Time to make an exit." He kissed me on the forehead.

"I'll see you at lunch, okay?" I nodded and he left the room, Isabelle right behind him. I turned to the nurse.

"I'm not on my period right now, if that's what you need to know," I said quickly, trying to end this conversation as soon as possible.

She chuckled. "Don't worry. We don't really need to talk about that. I just figured it was the easiest way to clear a room." She sat down in the chair my brother had vacated, leaning back as though she'd been putting up a professional front for Jon.

"Then...what do we need to talk about?" I asked warily. She sighed, her warm smile slipping a little as she rested one of her hands over mine.

"Hon, I need you to be honest with me, okay? If you lie then I'm going to have to have tests run that don't need to happen to make sure there's nothing wrong with you that could have caused you to faint. So you'll be honest with me, right? If the answer to my next question is yes, you need to tell me." I nodded warily.

"I'll tell the truth. I don't want another trip to the hospital." She nodded.

"Okay. I'm not going to sugar coat it. I need to know if you starve yourself." My lips parted in surprise and I felt myself pale.

I had to be honest, but how could I be honest about this? She would tell my parents, she would tell the school, my doctors. She would tell Jon. If Jon found out...I didn't even want to think about that. He would be so disappointed, so angry.

Mrs. Branwell rested a hand on my forearm comfortingly. "I promise that I won't tell anyone. I just need to know so I know if you need any extra tests." I looked away with a sigh.

"You wouldn't believe me if I tried to deny it now anyway, would you?" She chuckled a little.

"Sorry, Hon. You kind of gave it away when you didn't answer."

I heard a knock suddenly on the doorframe and looked up in panic. Someone had just heard that conversation.

The nurse looked panicked as well as she looked up to the student standing there. She gave me an apologetic look, her eyes wide. I just sighed, smoothing my surely crazy hair down. "He already knew," I said, my gaze flickering to Jace's golden one before skipping away again.

She let out a relived sigh. "Phew. I didn't want to break my promise," she explained. "But sweetie, you need to talk to someone about this. I know how hard it is to be a teenager in this age. You've got so much you're expected to live up to and so many impossible standards. But you're a beautiful girl and starving yourself doesn't do a thing but make you sick. And, if anything, it's taking away your beauty." I looked at her in shock. She gave me a sympathetic look. "You're gaunt, Hon. Like a skeleton. Just flesh and bones. And I know you may not believe me, but you'd be so much prettier if you were to gain some weight. Get some meat on your bones. You've got the body to have beautiful curves but you're so underweight that they disappear. You're beautiful but you'd be so much more so if you were healthy. And I know you probably don't believe anything I've said. God, I know how long it took me to believe it." She paused as I looked at her in surprise. She smiled a little sadly. I noticed for the first time how frail she appeared. She had the face of someone young, around twenty, but I'd always thought she was so much older because of how prominent her bones were. "I didn't believe anyone until it was too late to fix it. Once you reach a certain point, your body can never put enough muscle back on to look healthy. Don't ruin your body for the rest of your life just because of a few cruel kids today." I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up at Jace.

"And you, young man," Mrs. Branwell began sternly. "You need to help her. By letting her continue like this, knowing what's going on, you're acting just as cruelly as whoever-or whatever-has been convincing her that she's not good enough." I saw his eyes widen before they dimmed. He looked at the floor.

I felt my eyes sting slightly at the shame burning in the depths of his golden orbs. Jace hadn't done anything wrong. He wasn't like Sebastian.

His eyes met mine and I saw determination swirl to the forefront, pushing the shame back. "I know. And I refuse to be like that." His words were in response to the nurse, but I felt more as though he was saying it to me. "I promise."

Mrs. Branwell made me rest for a few more minutes before allowing me to leave with Jace. We had our next class together anyway. History. She made me swear that I would eat something at lunch and she made him swear that he would make me if I didn't.

Jace's hand remained on my shoulder when we walked to class as though he was worried I would pass out again. "I'm sorry," he finally said when we were halfway there, stopping me and turning me to face him. "I shouldn't have told Izzy about that. It was your business and I had no right to tell her. But I tell Izzy and Alec everything. But I can't talk to Alec about you-I think he would actually puke if he had to listen to me talk about a girl. So I told Izzy everything. I just-I was upset about it and I needed to talk to someone. But she promised me on the first day I met you that she wouldn't tell anyone anything that I said about you. She said, and I quote, 'I ship you two too much to risk letting her boyfriend ruin everything'." I couldn't help a small laugh at that.

"That sounds like Isabelle," I agreed. He gave me an award winning smile.

"So, do you forgive me?" I shook my head and smiled at the panic on his face.

"There's nothing to forgive you for," I assured him. "I was being stupid and I was being a hypocrite. I mean, I accidentally spilled to her about...you know, last night. So I really can't be mad at you. And I shouldn't have been even before that. It was stupid. I tell Jon everything. Why should I expect you and Isabelle to be any different?"

He sighed, relieved. "So, I'm assuming you still need some time to think about...it. Since you've spent this time being angry with me, that is." I smiled sheepishly.

"Time would be nice. I mean, I've come to a few conclusions but I haven't really decided anything." He looked interested.

"Care to share the conclusions you've come to?" I bit my lip then shrugged.

I might as well be honest about my thoughts. Maybe he could even help me sort them out.

"I've realized that Sebastian doesn't treat me right. And Jon would probably kill me if he knew I let him treat me like he does." Jace smirked a little.

"I think he'd kill Sebastian, not you." I looked at him wearily.

"You've never seen Jon when he's angry. He'd be on a war path. I've also decided that maybe if I stopped letting him treat me badly, he would stop trying to," I said, looking into his eyes to get his honest opinion. It wasn't a good one.

"Clary, a guy like Sebastian doesn't need your permission to treat you wrong. He'll do it whether you 'let him' or not. He's a dick and he'll always be a dick, and dicks treat other people like dicks."

"I think you just used the word 'dick' more times in one sentence than I have in my entire life." He gave me a lopsided grin.

"You've said the word dick less than four times in you life?" I blushed.

"I don't know. But that was a lot of repetition and I don't swear a lot," I defended. Jace smiled.

"I know. And I think it's sweet. I'm so used to swearing from hearing it so much growing up that I do it all the time. I know I shouldn't but it's a habit," he said with a shrug. "I wish I had your control." My cheeks heated again and I diverted my eyes.

"Seb hates it. He says it's like dating a six year old sometimes." I heard Jace sigh.

"How about we pull the conversation away from him? You always get upset when you talk about him. And you look away, hide your eyes. And I love seeing your eyes." I flushed but looked up at him through my lashes.

He smiled and I couldn't help a small one in return, picking my head up fully.

"What do you want to talk about?" He looked thoughtful.

"What about the rest of your conclusions? Did you make any about me?"

The blush that had finally began to fade returned and Jace smirked, moving to lean his shoulder against the lockers. I copied his movement so that I was facing him in the empty hallway.

"I came to the conclusion that I have feelings for you," I blurted out before I could talk myself out of it. He grinned, his eyes sparkling happily. "And you're a good kisser." My eyes widened when I said the last part. I definitely hadn't meant to say that. I covered my mouth with my hand as I saw his grin grow.

"Oh, I'm a good kisser?" He took a step towards me so that there was only a few inches between our chests. He leaned his face down, making me freeze as his lips lowered to my ear. "How about I remind you just how good I am?"

My breath froze in my chest as he pulled his lips away from my ear, his eyes burning into mine. He lowered his face to mine and stopped when our lips were just millimeters apart.

I shuddered slightly in anticipation, my eyes half closed. "What are you waiting for?" I whispered, feeling as though all the butterflies in the world were congregating in my stomach. He chuckled and his warm breath fanned over my lips. I was nearly shaking, desperate for him to close the distance between us.

"I'm waiting for you to breath," he responded, reaching up and resting a hand against the side of my neck, his lips turned up in a smirk. I let out a shaky breath before taking another in. He breathed out teasingly once more before closing the distance between our lips.

I gasped quietly as his warm lips brushed mine. I leaned up on my toes, pressing us together more firmly. He made a satisfied noise in the back of his throat as he moved his lips against mine, his other hand moving up to press against my lower back and pulling us flush against each other.

I felt my cheeks flush at the contact but didn't pull away. I looped my arms up around his neck, loving the feel of his body against mine. His lips were soft but firm, his hand burying itself in my hair.

He turned us suddenly, making the world spin around us. I felt my back press up against cool metal as he pushed me up against the lockers, gently enough that it didn't hurt or make any noise.

I tangled my fingers in his golden curls, tugging gently. He groaned into my mouth, his tongue running along my bottom lip. I parted my lips for him and would've collapsed if he wasn't holding me up against the lockers as his tongue slipped into my mouth, muffling my moan.

I felt him grin, knowing exactly what he was doing to me. In retaliation, I shifted slightly, moving my hips sharply. He groaned again, his hand tightening where it rested on my hip. He pressed himself more firmly against me and I gasped into his mouth as the bulge in his pants pressed against me.

He pulled his mouth from mine, inhaling sharply. Our chests were heaving as we stared at each other, still pressed together so tightly that our lips were now the only parts of us that weren't touching.

He rested his forehead against mine, closing his eyes as he breathed heavily. I tilted my head back, bringing my lips back to his. He pulled away and I frowned in disappointment, pouting slightly. He groaned, turning his eyes away.

"Unless you want me to take you right here in the hallway, we're going to need to slow down," he said, his eyes dark as he looked down at me. A shudder ran down my spine at his words. He smirked suddenly before leaning down to whisper in my ear. "Do you like dirty talk, Clary? That's another thing I'm good at, if you want a sample of that too." His teeth grazed against my ear and my knees buckled beneath me. Jace chuckled, pressing himself even tighter to me to make sure I didn't fall.

I let out a shaky breath, leaning my head back against the locker behind me. I felt as thought the temperature had increased to approximately that of a desert within just a few minutes. Jace made a trail of kisses down my neck until he reached my collar bone, nipping at it teasingly.

"Jace," I groaned, my fingers digging into his shoulders.

I hadn't had a kiss like this since I first started dating Sebastian. More than half a year ago.

Jace laughed breathily, finally taking a step back from me. He looked down at me with eyes that were dark with lust as I struggled to get my heart rate and breathing under control.

I felt my cheeks heat up when I realized that all that had just taken place in a completely public area. Somebody could have walked by at any moment and seen that. I looked around guiltily but nobody was around. I looked back at Jace, who smirked at me.

"You look like you've never kissed anyone before, your cheeks are so red. Is it because we were just in a fairly compromising situation in a public place?" I just looked at him, blinking slowly as I tried to force the flush from my cheeks. He laughed again and I finally scooped enough of the mush that my mind had become into a pile to swat at his chest.

"You know, you seemed pretty worked up too," I pointed out, my eyes flickering to the waist of his jeans. His lips turned up on one side in my favorite lopsided smile.

"Hmm," he agreed, reaching a hand up to brush a strand of my hair back. "Hard not to get worked up when I have a beautiful girl pressed up against the wall moaning." I shuddered again, closing my eyes as though that could block out his words.

I heard him laugh lightly. "You do like that, huh?" I opened my eyes again, confused. He took a confident step forwards. "You like when I talk dirty to you. Imagine all the dirty things I could whisper in your ear if we were in a bed," he said, his lips nearly touching mine.

It was official. This boy could make me do anything he wanted with just a few words. My eyes were wide and he grinned before stepping back again. I blinked in surprise. I thought he was going to kiss me again.

"Class is going to end soon. If we start kissing again, the entire school body is going to forget about your fainting spell and start talking about how your brother killed me for screwing you up against a locker." I sighed raggedly at his words but nodded.

"Sebastian is coming back today," I said when we were on our way back to class, both of us having managed to calm down. Jace scowled at his feet.

"Great. Can't wait to see the king of dicks again," he spat, glaring at the tiles he stepped on. I sighed.

"I don't think I want him to come back." Jace's head snapped up to look at me.

"You don't want him to come back?" I blushed for probably the sixtieth time that day.

"I don't think so. When he comes back...I can't pretend he doesn't exist anymore. I can't just tell myself that...that I'll deal with everything when he gets here. And I can't push away the guilt for what I feel for you if he's here."

"Oh," Jace said, his brows furrowed as he looked at the floor. He looked up at me to say something, but we had reached Starkweather's room.

He bit his lip, looking at me as though wondering if he should say what he wanted to. Then he looked away and pushed the door open, stepping in and holding it open for me.

Everyone stared when we stepped in. And then the whispers started. I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

"Clarissa, Jonathan." I looked up, expecting yet again to see my brother. Then I huffed in annoyance when I remembered Jace's real name. Jace walked up to Starkweather's desk and I followed close behind.

"Where have you two been all class period?" I felt my face flush and a mild panic stirred in my chest. Where had I been? How about pressed up against the lockers with his tongue down my throat? Yeah, let's not tell the teacher that.

I didn't remember that we'd actually had a valid excuse until Jace told Starkweather that I'd been in the nurse's office. The beady-eyed man looked at me critically.

"And why exactly were you there?"

"I fainted in science," I said, fidgeting under his gaze. He raised a brow, turning to a cool-looking Jace.

"And why were you in the nurse's office with her?"

"My sister heard she was there when she got out of class and told me to go stay with her until she could go back to class because she knew I had this class with her," Jace explained calmly.

"Then you won't mind if I call the nurse?" He looked at me challengingly. I shrugged.

"If you want to waste your time, sure," I said easily. The man glared at me as a fair amount of our classmates covered their laughter with coughs. But he picked up the phone anyway, waving us off to our seats.

I sat down and Jace turned in his seat to smirk at me. "Good luck looking Jon in the eyes at lunch if you can't handle talking to Starkweather." I blushed again,

Aline leaned over, looking at me curiously.

"Are you okay? You've looked really flushed since you walked in the door."

Lunch had to be the most awkward situation I had ever been in. Jace was right about not being able to look my brother in the eyes.

Of course, that prompted Jon to make a whole bunch of jokes about what he thought that nurse had been asking me about after he left. It was as bad as it had been that morning. Finally, I snapped at him.

"Jonathan Morgenstern, if you don't stop with the damn period jokes I'll make you bleed from your-"

A hand clapped over my mouth for the second time today and I scowled at Jon, licking his palm. He grimaced but didn't remove his hand from my face.

"Language, Clare," he teased. I licked his hand again. He rolled his eyes. "Clary, I've dealt with you for sixteen years-almost seventeen now. Do you really think a bit of your saliva is going to make me do anything?"

I scowled. "Gmeft er andf off mef." He raised a brow.

"What was that?" I finally reached up and ripped his hand from my face.

"I said, 'get your hand off me'," i snapped. "What was that for?"

He rolled his eyes. "You were using vulgar language and threats. I silenced you."

"I'll silence you permanently," I threatened, turning back to the lunch I had picked up today. I poked at it with a plastic fork, feeling the weight of Jace's eyes on me. I looked up at him across the table and he flickered his eyes between the tray in front of me and my eyes.

Eat, he seemed to be saying. I sighed, stabbing a piece of blandly flavored pasta. I wasn't really sure what it was supposed to be, but it tasted like pasta with water dumped on it. I was less than pleased when Jace made me get this instead of just eating an apple. I shoved a forkful into my mouth, grimacing as I chewed it. Jace looked pleased, taking a bite out of a sandwich Izzy had dropped in front of him when she sat down.

"I hate you," I said half-heatedly. He laughed, nearly choking on his food.

Jon raised a brow at me but didn't say anything, turning back to the conversation between him and Izzy.

"Classy," I commented as Jace chugged down half a bottle of water to chase down the sandwich. He just winked at me.

"Because you're completely classy too," he said. "I know something classy ladies really don't make a habit of doing up against lockers." My stomach flipped and I shoved another forkful of the disgusting food into my mouth to avoid Jace's suggestive look.

"Jace, stop teasing poor Clary," I heard Izzy say from down the table. I saw the humor in her eyes though. Nobody had heard exactly what he said, but the flush on my cheeks must have said it all.

"But she's so fun to tease," he argued, smirking at me. Jon laughed, bumping my shoulder with his.

"I tell her that all the time." I scowled between the two of them.

"There's two of you now," I said. "This is what hell looks like."

The table erupted in laughter as Jon ruffled my hair affectionately. I didn't bother to fix it, knowing it would be screwed up again by the end of lunch.

When I'd finally choked down all of my lunch, Jace offered to take my tray up for me. I let him take it and rested my head on the table. My stomach was turning as though I had just eaten a plate of human flesh. Maia was eating the same thing, and so were other people around the cafeteria, but I was the only one who seemed to feel as though I was going to vomit at any second.

Jon's hand rested on my back. "Clary, are you okay? Are you going to faint again?" I shook my head.

"No, my stomach is just bothering me. I haven't had a school lunch in a while, I probably just need to build my tolerance to toxic waste back up again." My brother chuckled.

"Whatever you say."

After I'd run some of the track in gym, my stomach was feeling better. I figured I'd just eaten too much at once after eating so little for so long. And, of corse, the school food probably didn't help much.

When it came time for Jon and I to head home, I felt like I was going to be sick again. This time it was different though. This time I knew it was because I was going to have to face Sebatian soon. And I had no idea how to do that.

Jon was supposed to pick Seb up from the airport at four and drive back to the house. At least that gave me a little time to calm down before I saw him.

I was just beginning to settle my nerves when I stepped into the living room, dropping my bag to the floor beside the couch. I was about to turn back towards the kitchen for a cup of water when I saw a figure stretched out on our couch, watching me with dark eyes.

Sebastian. He was here early. I had no time to figure out what I was going I say to him, whether I was still angry, anything.

Forget two Jonathans. That wasn't hell. This was.

**So here's the chapter :) there was more clace! :D sorry about te fact that it was barely edited. I was half asleep going through it. Oh well. **

**Here's something I think really needs to be addressed:**

**Some people seem kind of uncomfortable with Clary cheating on Sebastian. And, as a person who has been cheated on before, I understand why you might not like the idea of her cheating. But as much as I hate cheaters, I find myself cutting her a lot of slack due to how Sebastian treats her. He's an ass, to put it simply and she deserves better. She's starting to realize that, but she's kind of been weakened to the point where she can't imagine not having Seb around. And another thing about her reasonings: if I had a boyfriend and he called me a whore, I would show him just how much of one I could be. **

**So I hope I'm not offending anyone with the direction this story took. It's all a part of Clary's growth as a character. **

**Love you guys! **

**-Cassidy ❤️**


	11. Chapter 11

**Fair warning: this chapter WILL having spelling and grammatical errors! I spent like an hour going through this and editing it and then my phone DELETED THE EDITED COPY. So, because I'm not editing AGAIN, you all have to just suck it up for a chapter. I apologize. **

**So, this chapter is super short compared to my other ones and I'm sorry about that, but there is a LOT happening in it. **

**Hope you enjoy ;)**

"Seb," I breathed out, my stomach flipping around in my gut. He leveled his dark, angry eyes on me, sitting up from his lounging position on the couch.

Before either of us could say anything, his face cleared, a smile taking place of the snarl on his lips as he stood up. My back remained rigid even as he greeted Jon with a slap on the back. He turned to me with an expectant look. When I didn't move to greet him, he stepped forward with his arms out. I jerked back, stepping out of his reach. I didn't like the gleam in his eyes. It was terrifying.

Hurt flashed across his face and Jon put a hand between my shoulder blades, pushing me gently into Sebastian's chest.

"Clary, be nice. I don't care if you fought last night. You haven't seen each other in a week." Sebastian's arms, which were now wrapped around my waist, tightened fractionally at Jon's words.

He pulled away slightly, leaning down to kiss me lightly on the lips. I kissed him back, although it was the last thing I felt like doing.

"There ya' go," Jon said happily, ruffling my hair when I stepped out of Seb's arms. I scowled at him.

"I'm not a dog." Then I turned and scooped my bag up off the floor. I headed towards the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Jon called after me.

"I've got homework to do," I snapped over my shoulder.

I heard Jon muttering to Seb as I made my way up the stairs.

"Don't mind her. She's been hormonal all day."

If he didn't stop telling people stuff like that, I was going to end up killing my brother. Do you go to jail longer for fratricide than you do for just plain homicide?

** ️**

It was probably an hour later that I heard someone knock on my door. I looked up from my phone, clicking the screen off. I'd been texting Jace since I escaped up to my room. We'd been teasing each other light-heartedly while I worked on my homework. I really did have homework to do, although I could've easily put it off until later if I'd wanted to talk to Seb. But I didn't.

Jon poked his head in. "Hey, you still doing homework?" I held up the Spanish sheet in response. Just then, my phone lit up.

"Uh-huh. Homework involves texting now?" I scowled.

"When I'm texting my Spanish tutor it does." Jon smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry. Tell Jace I said 'hi'," he said, walking into my room and plopping down on my bed. I looked warily at the doorway and Jon rolled his eyes.

"He left. He said he had to go see his aunt. Why did you blow him off earlier? I would've thought you'd be ecstatic to see him."

I sighed, sending another text to Jace before turning to my brother. "I'm still angry with him. And I can tell he's angry with me."

"He didn't seem angry," Jon argued, his brows furrowed. I shrugged.

"I could see it in his eyes. I ignored all his texts and calls last night and all day today. He's angry." Jon sighed.

"Sorry to say this, Clare, but I can see why he would be. I would be pissed too if you ignored me for two days straight." I glared at him, turning back to the papers on my desk.

"I had a reason to. He started the fight, he can deal with the silent treatment for a bit," I said, looking at my phone and giving Jon a half-smirk.

"Jace said 'hi Jonny'," I told him. Jon scowled.

"I swear to god if you told him to call me that-"

"I swear to god I didn't," I mocked, turning back to the paper before me. I used to call him Jonny when we were little and I only did it now to bug him. Jace calling him that was just a pretty funny coincidence.

"Crap, what is a 'calcetine'?" I asked, looking back at Jon. He raised a brow at me.

"No hablo español. Ask your study buddy." I sighed, picking my phone up again. Seeing a long list of texts I'd sent Jace asking what things were, I decided to just call him and work through it together.

He picked up quickly and I started talking before he could say anything. "What the heck is a calcetine?"

Jace chuckled. "It means 'sock'," he reminded me. I sighed.

"You have that tone again that I should've known that."

"It's a vocabulary word people learn in their first year. You're in your third," he pointed out. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, I remember," I snapped.

"Be nice," Jon admonished. "He's helping you, remember." I sighed.

"Sorry," I grumbled. Jace laughed.

"What, is your brother yelling at you?"

"Yes. He thinks he's my mother," I said, sticking my tongue out at Jon. "I'm putting you on speaker phone, keep it PG," I warned him.

"I always do, don't I?" I could hear the teasing note to his tone and my cheeks blushed as I remembered exactly how un-PG our kiss in the hallway had been.

"No, you really don't," I said before hitting the speaker button and setting the phone on my desk.

"Make nice with Jon until I need help again," I said, hearing both boys chuckle.

"Don't you just love her attitude?" Jon asked, raising his voice so the speaker picked him up.

"Oh definitely. She's so sweet," Jace said sarcastically. I scowled.

"Hey. I'm still here," I reminded them.

"Just do your homework while I talk to your friend," Jon ordered. I huffed but did as I said.

I half-focused on my papers and half-listened to their conversation for a few more minutes. Apparently, Jace was a soccer player, which piqued my interest. Jon played soccer and I loved to watch him. I use to hang around with him and the team all the time. He and Jon were talking about what positions they played when I got tripped up again.

"I hope to god that's a typo," I said, narrowing my eyes at the paper. "A 'horno'? That cannot be a real thing."

Jace laughed while Jon got up to peer over my shoulder. "It sounds like porno," he pointed out. I rolled my eyes.

"Thanks, Jon. That was super helpful."

"It means oven," Jace said. "You should be able to remember that one pretty easily now." Jon chuckled, but I frowned at the phone.

"I don't get it. It sounds like porno but how does that help me remember that it means oven?" Both of them were silent. "What?"

"Um...I'll leave Jon with this one. I'll talk to you later, 'kay?" Then he hung up. I frowned again, my brows furrowing as I spun around to look at Jon. He appeared to be trying really hard to not laugh.

"Clary, what do ovens and pornos have in common?" I wrinkled my nose, feeling how red my cheeks had become once this topic had come up.

"I don't know. They cost a lot?"

My brother burst out in laughter and I scowled in indignation. "What? What's so funny?"

"You," he gasped out. "You're way too old to not know anything about this kind of stuff." I glared at him. "Clary, nobody buys porn. It's online for free, why would you need to buy it?" I huffed, getting up from my desk and walking over to my bed.

"Why would you need it at all? Jeez, I've gone my whole life without it but guys act like they couldn't live without it." Jon rolled his eyes.

"That's what every girl says." I returned his eye roll.

"Humor me then, if I don't know enough. What do ovens and porn have in common?" He smirked.

"They're both really hot." I frowned for a second, then grimaced.

"That's disgusting." My brother laughed again, ruffling my hair.

"I love you. You're so innocent, it's adorable." I scoffed.

"Yeah. Ask your BFF just how innocent I am. Because apparently I screw every guy I meet," I said bitterly. Jon sighed.

"Clary, I told you that he's just worried." I bit my lip to avoid saying what came to mind. 'Just worried' wasn't enough of an excuse to call me a whore just for talking to another guy.

But I didn't say anything, just shrugged. Jon huffed before walking over to the door. "He's going to be over later. Just talk to him when he is, okay? Please?" He was giving me a pleading look, one I couldn't refuse.

"Fine," I muttered. He grinned before walking out of my room, closing the door behind him.

I let out an angry breath when I looked back down at my Spanish. Without thinking, I swiped an arm across my desk, knocking everything to the floor. I glared at the mess I had created, knowing I had to clean it but not wanting to. I crouched down among the chaos, spotting colored pencils rolling along the hard wood and papers strewn all over. I groaned, rubbing a hand down my face as I began to pick the mess up.

I began to organize the supplies, tossing drawings and paintings into the drawer I had for them. I looked each one over as I did, smiling when I noticed one of Jace. Sebastian had told me he didn't want me drawing him again, but I didn't intend to listen this time. Once I'd cleaned up the disaster, I grabbed my sketchbook and flipped to a clean page. I kept an ear out for footsteps in the hallway, playing music quietly from my phone as I scratched lines across the page.

My music was cut off for a second as my phone alerted me to a text. I saw that it was Jace and grinned.

'Did Jon tell you?' -J

'Yes. You two are gross' -C

I turned back to the paper as I waited for a response, shading busily. When he texted back, it was a moment before I actually turned away to read it.

'Well, we're males, what did you expect? You still working on Spanish homework?' -J

'Nope. Drawing.' -C

His response was quick.

'What're you drawing?' -J

I hesitated for a moment before deciding to reply honestly.

'You.' -C

It took much longer for him to respond this time and I figured I'd effectively stunned him.

Before his text came in, I heard footsteps heading down the hall towards my room. I hastily closed the book, shoving it away into the drawer full of artwork, gathering Spanish papers from the corner of my desk and pulling them in front of me.

I flipped my phone over so the screen faced down and turned the volume off so that you couldn't see if Jace were to text back.

There was a single sharp knock on my door before it swung open. I looked up as Sebastian poked his head in, looking around before finding me at my desk. He smiled hesitantly. I just looked at him blankly for a moment before turning back to the almost finished worksheet.

I heard a ragged sigh and clenched my jaw as I pretended to ponder the question in front of me.

"Clary, would you stop acting like a fucking child already?" My fingers tightened on my pencil, but I didn't respond at all, writing down a random sentence in Spanish on the line where I was supposed to translate the English sentence.

I heard my door close and footsteps approaching me from behind, but still didn't look up. When I felt a hand clap down on my shoulder, I tensed up. Sebastian spun me around in the desk chair, leaning down to look me in the eyes. I glared at the angry spark in his dark irises. This close, I could just make out his pupils, which were shrunken. He was seriously angry.

"Yes?" I asked calmly. I knew I shouldn't goad him on, but I was just as pissed as he was. His hand tightened on my shoulder and I winced slightly. "Let me go," I said immediately, knowing his grip would only tighten if his hand remained on me.

"No," he said coldly. I flinched as he leaned closer. "We're going to talk this out like adults, got it?"

I nodded warily, wondering if his idea of talking like adults was the same as mine.

"I've been away for a week and you wouldn't even give me a hug without being forced into it by your brother?" I averted my eyes.

There was always the oh-so-tempting option of just apologizing and moving on, but I remembered Jace saying that I had to really talk to him. I had promised that I would when he got back. And now he was back, and I was ready to just cower away from Seb like a kicked dog.

"We fought, in case you've forgotten. You called me a whore," I said harshly. "Is that your idea of handling things like adults?" Sebastian rolled his eyes.

"It's not like you've never been called a whore before, Clary. People call other people names all the time, especially girls." I scoffed, narrowing my eyes.

"The difference is that you're my boyfriend. You're supposed to protect me from people calling me those kind of names. And I know that you meant it, too."

He huffed in irritation.

"Yeah, I definitely meant it. That's why I immediately started to apologize, why I texted and called nonstop, trying to just talk to you."

I bit my lip, lowering my eyes to the ground. He had called and texted a lot. And I'd hung up on him when he was apologizing. And then I had turned around an kissed Jace. And then I'd had a full-on make out session with him in the hallway.

My eyes flickered to his before going back to the floor. An apology was on the tip of my tongue. It was so second-nature to apologize just to smooth things down that I has to physically bite my tongue to keep myself from doing just that.

But biting my tongue also bit back the words that I knew I should say. Why have you been lying to me? Why have you been hurting me? But I knew, if I opened my mouth, all that would come out was an apology. And if I couldn't confront him about his issues, then the least I could do was not apologize for them.

So I just looked away. Sebastian's hand suddenly gripped tighter and I winced, my eyes flying up to his.

"Are you planning on ignoring me still?" He snapped. I immediately shook my head.

"No." His eyes narrowed on me for another minute and I didn't look away this time. Finally, he stood up and moved away, smiling as though nothing had ever happened.

He walked over to my bed and fell onto it on his back. He looked over to me and gestured for me to join him. I frowned, a bit stunned by his sudden mood change.

"Seb, I'm still working on homework," I reminded him, holding up my Spanish worksheet. He frowned and shrugged.

"It's Friday. You have all day tomorrow and Sunday to do it," he reasoned.

"And you'll take up all my time then too," I muttered under my breath before standing up and pushing my chair in.

As soon as I reached the side of my bed, Seb put his hands on my waist, tugging me down to the bed. I let him, sitting on the edge and looking down at him.

He reached up lazily and tucked a loose strand of hair away from my cheek.

"You're gorgeous, you know that?"

I rolled my eyes. "You're just saying that because you want me to have sex with you," I accused.

He looked at me sheepishly. "Is that a no?"

I scoffed and moved to stand up. He grabbed my wrist, tugging me back down. I looked at where his fingers circled my arm and easily remembered the splint that had resided there only a few days ago.

"I was just kidding, Clary," he said softly, sitting up.

I didn't believe him, but I let him kiss me anyway. His lips were familiar and steady on mine as he put more force into the kiss.

His hands roamed to my shoulders, more pressure behind his touch than I liked. He turned us, pushing my back down on the bed. He leaned over me, one knee between my legs as he held himself over me. One of his hands fisted in my hair almost painfully as his other one wandered down my side.

I felt his fingers slip up under my shirt, his palm hot against my bare skin.

As his hand began to wander lower, fingering the button of my jeans, I reached my hands up out of habit to tangle my fingers in his hair. I remembered Jace's kiss, the way his mouth had moved softly against mine, the way his hands and lips had moved across my body in a way that made me feel as though I was flying.

I remembered how he'd felt pressed against me, the way his eyes had burned gold when I opened mine.

I opened my eyes now, suddenly coming back to myself as my fingers tightened on short and straight hair. Not curly and gold but straight and black. And the eyes that opened to look at me as I pulled away weren't gold but black.

I pressed my hands against Sebastian's chest, shoving a little to get him to notice me as he reached for his belt buckle. "No, Seb," I said seriously. "I don't want to." Not when I kept seeing a pair of golden eyes staring at me, care and kindness shining in their depth. Not when I couldn't think of anything but the difference between their touch, not when I could only feel his lips moving pleasurably along my skin, his voice whispering things in my ear that made me shiver.

"What do you mean?" Sebastian asked, sounding irritated. For once, I couldn't blame him. I had been responding to his kisses perfectly well before suddenly slamming on the brakes for no reason-no reason that he needed to know at least.

"I mean I don't want to," I told him, keeping my eyes on his. "I'm not just here for you to have sex with, you know."

He scowled. "I know that, Clarissa. But it'd be nice if we did it at least every now and then. When was the last time we had sex?"

I looked at him incredulously. "Not that long ago, Sebastian!"

He just grunted in response, his hand resting on my hip possessively. "It feels like it's been forever." He lowered his mouth to my neck again and I shoved against his chest. He shifted a little to give me a harsh look before moving again to kiss and suck at my skin.

It wasn't like when Jace had done it. When Jace had done it, he was trying to please me. Now, Sebastian was trying to control me, to make me do what he wanted me to.

I tried to shove him again as he growled angrily, gripping my wrists tightly and pulling them from his chest. He lifted them roughly and pinned them to the bed above my head. I winced at the pain shooting between my shoulders and wrists.

"Sebastian," I gasped out, feeling my heart speed up in fear. "Stop."

He ignored me, holding my hands together in one of his and leaning on them painfully as he reached down to start shimmying my jeans off my hips. I tried to yank my arms free but his grip was like iron.

"Sebastian!" I finally shouted. "Stop!" He froze, looking at me in shock.

"Clary?" I heard Jon call from downstairs.

I trembled under Sebastian as I saw the fury in his eyes. He knew as well as I did that my shout could have brought Jon running to my room. But there were no footsteps. He must have shrugged it off as hearing things.

But now I had an advantage. I knew Jon could hear me. "I swear to god, Sebastian, if you don't get off of me right now, I will call for Jon." I looked him in the eyes as I spoke, making sure he knew I was serious.

He stared at me for a long moment before slowly, one finger at a time, releasing my wrists. He slowly moved off of me, his eyes never leaving me. Then, suddenly, they did. He spun on his heel, flinging my door open and slamming it shut behind him as he left. I winced at the silence that I was left in.

I laid there for a few moments in shock before finally moving my arms. I winced as I felt the ache in my shoulders. I sat up slowly, rolling them and my wrists at the same time.

What was that? I felt myself shaking as I thought back to the malicious look in his eyes as I told him to stop. And he hadn't. That was the thing I couldn't grasp, even as I rubbed my wrists gently with the opposite hand. Why wouldn't he have stopped when I told him to? I was sure, remembering the way he'd looked at me, the way he'd moved to unbutton my jeans even as I told him not to, that he would never have listened to me had Jon not been downstairs.

My fingers fumbled as I buttoned my jeans back up, standing shakily. I walked across the room and clenched my phone in my hand, taking comfort in it's familiar shape. It contained the numbers of so many different people I could call. And I knew that they would jump to my aid as well if I told them what had just happened. But I didn't call anybody. I didn't send out a text. I just put my phone back down before stumbling to my bathroom.

It wasn't fair to bother other people. Everyone I could contact were Sebastian's friends as much as they were mine. We'd never found any need to have our own circles, our own friends. Now I wished that we had.

Then I stopped in my tracks. But I did have a different circle now, didn't I? I had Jace and Isabelle. They both hated Seb. I could tell then what happened, let it all out, without hurting anyone. I bit my lip as I walked over to the sink, locking the door behind me. I sighed at my reflection.

My eyes were wide and haunted, glimmering with unshed tears. I was paler than usual and I was hunched in on myself slightly, making my stature appear even smaller than it usually was. I yanked off my t-shirt, wincing at the throbbing the movement aroused in my shoulders. I rubbed one in an attempt to ease the ache, averting my eyes quickly from the angry red mark that was gracing my right shoulder where he'd grabbed me earlier while I was sitting at my desk.

I saw the bruises already forming on both wrists, worse than usual. I closed my eyes against the dark marks marring my ghostly pale skin.

I removed the rest of my clothes and stepped into the shower, turning it up as hot as it would go.

I scrubbed at my skin with strawberry body wash before scrubbing my hair with shampoo and conditioner. Then I used the body wash again.

Never before had I felt the need to scrub the feeling of someone's touch away, but I did now.

I didn't get out until I felt the water began to cool. When I did, I saw how red my skin was from a combination of the burning hot water and the excessive scrubbing. I smiled slightly when I realized that the change in color made the bruises and marks less noticeable.

I wrapped a towel around myself and walked back into my room. I glanced at my phone but walked by it. I wouldn't call anyone. I wouldn't text. I would get over it and stop making myself look so weak. I didn't need someone's help to take care of myself.

I got dressed straight into pajamas and slipped into bed. It was nine, and I figured it was as good a time as any to go to sleep.

I felt a little jolt of terror as I flicked my lamp off. Was Sebastian still in the house? What if he tried something while I was asleep? Then I shook my head. With how angry he was, he was sure to have left again.

Still, as I burrowed into my blankets, I couldn't get my heartbeat to calm completely. I laid in bed for probably an hour before I gave up on trying to slow my pulse. I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and flicked the screen on, blinking to adjust my eyes to the bright light. Jace's reply to my last text still on the lock screen.

I went to my messages and read it, a quiet chuckle slipping out.

'Well, I can't be surprised. I am amazingly attractive ;)' -J

'Conceited much?'-C

I put the phone back down, hoping he would respond soon. Just reading his text, I could imagine a million different ways that he could've been looking at me when he said it if we'd been face to face. Maybe his lips would quirk up in a smirk, an eye closing in a teasing wink. Or maybe he would've given me a completely serious look before losing his control and laughing anyway.

Then I would roll my eyes and respond the same way I had in the text, and he would just grin, pulling me into a hug. Or maybe ruffling my hair-something he'd picked up from Jon and Magnus that I wasn't too pleased about.

I was broken from my imagination when there was a knock on my door. My heartbeat immediately picked up. Sebastian had come back. Instinct drove me to do a few things at once. I grabbed my phone, my thumb hovering over the call button as my other hand reached for some kind of weapon.

When I saw a flash of white in the doorway, I relaxed, dropping my phone back to the comforter. "Jon."

He smiled slightly. "Hey. You okay? I heard yelling earlier."

I nodded. "Yeah. Fine," I said, trying to make my voice sound light. "We worked things out."

He nodded, looked thankful. "Good. I'm tired of you guys fighting. Did you tell him about Jace tutoring you? You know it's going to blow up in your face later if you don't," he warned at my guilty look.

I sighed. "Not if he doesn't find out. Look, I'm going to be going to the Lightwoods' house pretty soon anyway to work on my English project with Isabelle. And besides that, I just had a partner project assigned in Spanish and-"

"And, of course, you got paired with Jace," my brother finished. "So Sebastian is just going to have to get used to it. Just tell him before he thinks you're trying to hide things," he said before saying goodnight and leaving my room. I scowled after him.

I didn't need him to tell me what to do once again. Just because he's my brother doesn't mean he always knows what's best for me.

I felt my phone vibrate beside me on my lap and looked at it. Jace had responded.

We continued to tease each other until I eventually fell asleep, calmed by the images my mind created of Jace by my side.

** ️**

The next day, I was up an hour before Jon. As soon as he came downstairs, I looked up at him, pointing a finger.

"Game of Thrones marathon. Now." He looked at me sleepily for a minute before shrugging.

"Sounds good to me." I allowed him the time to make himself a cup of coffee before I turned the episode we'd left off on last on.

I waited and waited for the nerve to tell Jon what I was thinking. I waited for him to be awake enough, I waited for him to be cheerful enough, I waited for a slow part in the episode we were watching. Then I decided I would just wait until we finished the episodes for today. Then I could talk to him without any distractions.

The whole time, the characters on the screen failed to draw me in. Game of Thrones had always been a good distraction. It had never failed to occupy my mind. But today it just wasn't doing the trick.

Every time a character with black hair appeared-which happened often-I stiffened, thinking that it was Sebastian. And, likewise, every time I saw a blonde character I pictured Jace. I could imagine the two of them in medieval times. They would be rival kings, one fair and kind and the other harsh and controlling. Sebastian would lead with fear and hatred while Jace with trust and honor.

I could almost see the two of them heading opposing armies, hundreds behind each of them as they glared across the field. Jace's men would be dressed in white armor, perched on beautiful and lithe horses of the same color. Sebastian's would be dressed in armor black as the night, the horses stomping and snorting under them, prepared for the brutality for the oncoming slaughter. And I would stand between the two armies, shouting at both of them to stop, like the typical heroine in the typical story. And they would see reason. Sebastian would retreat, leaving us in peace for the rest of our lives.

But this wasn't the typical story and I wasn't the typical heroine. In fact, I wasn't the heroine at all. And things couldn't be solved by a few strong words, a moving speech. It would take a battle and I was sure there would be casualties no matter how it was played out.

The fear of exactly that happening kept my mouth shut as the day dragged on. And when Jon announced that he was leaving to go to a friend's house, I just nodded and smiled like I should.

As soon as he was gone, the smiled faded and I stood up, shutting the TV off. I sat back on the couch and rolled onto my back, looking up at the ceiling in exhaustion.

I closed my eyes, wanting a nap more than anything. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out why I was so bone-tired. I was always sleeping, so why was I still tired?

I let my mind wander wherever it wanted as I dozed, half asleep as half awake.

When there was a knock on the door, I jumped, startled from my almost-sleep. I thought about getting up to get it, but wrinkled my nose at the thought of actually getting up. No way was I getting off this couch.

I just closed my eyes again, hoping whoever it was would go away. The door was unlocked, so I knew Jon hadn't forgotten his key again. And he shouldn't be back yet anyway-not until tomorrow.

A few seconds later, I heard the door open and kept my eyes closed. Maybe whoever it was would leave if they thought I was asleep.

"Clarissa. I'm not stupid. I know you're awake." I groaned. Even if I hadn't known the angry voice like the back of my hand, I knew only one person consistently called me by my full name.

"I'm tired, Seb," I said coldly before peeking my eyes open.

My boyfriend stood beside the couch, looking down at me with narrowed eyes.

"Yeah, well I'm tired of your games," he spat. "What the hell was that about last night?"

I shut my eyes again, thinking it would be easier to find the nerve to reason with him if I didn't have to see the fury in his eyes.

"I told you I didn't want to have sex with you and you decided that you were going to go through with it despite the fact that I wasn't willing to," I reminded him, my voice as harsh as his was.

Anger had built up, pushing my fear to confront him again down. I was ready to fight, not cower or cry.

I opened my eyes again and saw him glaring at me, his eyes narrowed. "You weren't willing to? Really? Because I distinctly remember you letting me kiss you and touch you, you even responded for a minute before you decided you weren't in the mood anymore. It's not my fault that you changed your mind halfway through!" He was yelling by the time he was finished and I flinched, still not sitting up.

"Look, I know it's not fair to just flip and leave you all hot and bothered but-"

"But what? But you're already getting enough on the side that you don't need to get anything from me?" I gaped at him, trying to keep the guilt at bay. His words were closer to the truth than I would've liked.

I had pushed him away because I was cheating on him with someone else, but it had nothing to do with physical satisfaction and everything to do with emotional satisfaction. And, somehow, that felt so much worse.

If cheating was a crime charged in the same way as murder, I had committed the pre-meditated kind, the kind you go to jail for life for. I hadn't just slept with another guy and moved on, I had purposefully talked to and got to know Jace before kissing him on two different occasions. I wasn't cheating for more or better sex, I was cheating because I wanted someone to love and care about me. And it felt so much worse than if I had just slept with Jace.

"You're so full of it," I snapped, breaking myself out of my stupor. "You're seriously still stuck on this thing with Jace?" His eyes hardened even more.

"I never said anything about Jace."

I looked at him in confusion. Then I realized that I'd made a little jump from him accusing me of cheating to him accusing me of cheating with Jace. It was just a little jump, a little assumption, but to Sebastian I was sure that it was the most incriminating thing I could have possibly done. I swore mentally.

"I just assumed that's what you were leading to," I said, trying to make my voice sound more natural as I sat up.

"I'm sure that's what it is," he said, crossing him arms over his chest. "It couldn't be your guilty conscience talking."

I scoffed, standing up and turning to hide the blush on my cheeks. He was exactly right.

"Whatever. Say what you want, Sebastian," I snapped, turning on my heel to face him again. I'm sure he would just think that the color on my cheeks was anger anyway. "You know, you're just acting like this because you know that you treat me like crap and you're freaked out because you think that I'm going to realize I can do better and leave you!" My fists were clenched at my sides as I looked over his rigid form.

Before I could even react to his movement, there was a sudden stinging sensation on my cheek. Sebastian's hand fluttered awkwardly to the side of my head, which had swung to the side with the force of the contact. I flinched belatedly as his hand slowly lowered back to his side.

I could feel a familiar stinging at the back of my eyes as I lowered my gaze to the floor. "Don't you talk to me like that," Seb finally snapped before storming away into the kitchen.

As soon as he was gone, I felt hot tears began to trace their way down my cheeks. I trembled as I fell back onto the couch, grabbing my phone.

I barely had time to hit send after typing out a short message before I heard footsteps leaving the kitchen. I shoved my phone back on the side table, turning it on silent so Sebastian didn't see I'd been using it. I looked up at him fearfully as his shadow loomed over me. I could still feel my cheek throbbing as quickly as my heart was pounding.

His eyes were glimmering as he looked down at me and for once, it seemed to be due to sadness instead of anger. He crouched down in front of where I sat, resting his palms on the sides of my face. He let out a broken sigh when I tried to flinch away from his hands.

"Clary," he said softly. "Clary, I'm so sorry."

I shut my eyes against the sadness and regret in his. I could almost believe, when he looked at me like that, that he was still the boy that he used to be. I could see in him the person that had been my brother's best friend for the majority of my life. And it hurt, to know that in half an hour he could be a completely different person again.

But when I looked back at the sorrow in his face, I smiled at him the slightest bit.

"It's okay. I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made you so upset." He smiled thinly and pressed his lips to my forehead.

"No. I should've controlled my temper. I'm sorry." I just smiled again, a little shakily this time. He didn't seem to notice and just reached forward to pull me into his arms.

We sat in silence for a few moments before I felt him kiss the side of my neck softly. As he started to pepper my skin with kisses once again, I remembered last night. I put a hand to his chest, determined not to lead him on this time.

"Sebastian," I whispered, my voice warning. But it was too weak to have any impact and he continued to press his lips to my skin.

My heart beat was picking up to a speed that couldn't possibly be healthy. I was terrified, I realized. I was afraid of Sebastian. I felt like crying as he pushed me back onto the couch. He climbed on top of me and lowered his lips to mine. I shut my eyes tightly.

If I just let him do what he wanted, maybe the fighting would end. Maybe he wouldn't feel the need to hurt me again.

** ️**

Jace's POV ;)

All day long, I couldn't get thoughts of Clary out of my head. All throughout the school day, after our hot kiss in the hallway, I was completely lost in thought. It was obvious enough that Isabelle even asked what was going on with me.

Clary seemed even more tempting in gym, her shorts almost seeming to have become inches shorter and sizes tighter. I knew it was just my mind, but it still drove me mad. Since our hallway make out, I had become hyper-aware of every little part of her body, especially her chest and ass.

At the end of the day, I got home and was instantly faced with an inquisition as Isabelle shut the door behind me.

"What the hell has been up with you today? You've been totally out of it! You barely said a word to Alec or I and you haven't paid attention for shit! You didn't even say anything when I asked if you wanted me to see if Clary can come over today!"

That snapped my attention to her. I was about to tell her to call Clary, but then I remembered. "Sebastian is back today," I snapped.

A perfectly shaped brow rose as she looked at me skeptically. "So?" I rolled my eyes.

"So, she's dating him, not me," I growled, passing her to go sit on the couch. "She's going to want to spend quality time with him to catch up. And she'll probably forget all about me now that she's got him back."

My tone was venomous, and I knew I wasn't being fair to Isabelle or Clary.

"Bullshit!" Isabelle cried. "Are you being serious right now? Why the hell would she forget about you?"

"Because her boyfriend is back!" I stood back up, ready to argue now. "She doesn't need someone there to keep her company anymore!"

Isabelle looked shocked. "Do you really think that lowly of her that you think she was just using you for someone to keep her company? She cares about you, Jace. She won't just stop talking to you because Sebastian is back. You're not being fair to her to think of her like that."

I looked down, properly scolded. "Sorry," I muttered. Isabelle just rolled her eyes.

"Don't tell me you're sorry, just tell me why you were so out of it today. I know it can't be that you're angry about Sebastian because then you would've just been pissy all day."

I looked at her seriously. I wasn't sure if Clary would want me to tell Izzy what we'd done in the hallway.

I knew Iz was still angry that I hadn't told her about the first kiss, but she could at least understand why I didn't tell her. But I wasn't too sure she would understand this time if I kept quiet.

And besides, I figured that if she already knew we'd kissed once, telling her we'd kissed again wouldn't upset Clary.

"We kissed again." Isabelle looked shocked.

"Wait, what? When?"

"Just before fifth period ended."

I could practically feel her hands on me when I thought about it. I could feel her fingers tangling in my hair, her hips jerking against mine teasingly. It killed me a little inside to know that I had been the one to cut it short once again.

Isabelle raised a brow at me, clearly getting over her shock. "Tell me you guys didn't do it in a janitor's closet. That is the most unromantic thing I've ever heard of."

I frowned. The thought had occurred to me. And I was still kicking myself a bit or not bringing it up with Clary. But I knew that it was better that I hadn't. She wasn't like that. She wasn't the type of girl to have sex in the janitor's closet. And she wasn't the type of girl you would _want_ to have sex with in the janitor's closet. She was worth more than that.

"No. We just kissed."

"You were that out of it because of just a little kiss?" I smirked and gave her a wink.

"I never said it was a _little_ kiss," I pointed out. Izzy grimaced then frowned.

"I'm definitely not asking you for details," she said. Then she but her lip, as though trying to hold in her question. "Screw it, I'll hear it all from her anyway." Then she turned on her heel, about to storm away. I frowned.

"What? What do you mean?" She sighed, waving her hand in the air.

"I was going to ask how far it went but that's girl talk. And since I have the choice, I'd rather talk to her about it than you." I chuckled.

"You're so weird." She shrugged and flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"So are you."

** ️** **M-rated material warning ;) or at least I think so. I'm still fuzzy about the difference. **

The next day, I stepped up to Clary's door with a smile. I had gotten a text from her asking me to come over and had jumped at the chance.

I didn't bother knocking-I never did. I shut the door behind me and Clary stepped out of the kitchen wearing only a pair of short shorts and a tanktop rolled up to just under her breasts, baring her pale and flat stomach. Her ribs seemed to have filled out slightly, making me think she was eating better.

She grinned at me as she stepped closer. "Jace!" I smiled back at her enthusiasm, although I couldn't keep my eyes or mind off of the amount of skin she was showing. She walked right up to me and threw her arms around my neck, resting her head on my chest.

I sucked in a breath in surprise, my hands automatically going to her lower back. My fingers brushed across the soft skin there and she shivered slightly in my arms. I looked down at her and saw her blush slightly at her reaction. She looked up at me with joy and something else, something less innocent, flashing in her eyes.

"Clary-"

"I broke up with Sebastian," she cut me off, giving me a tiny smile. I felt my eyes widen before I grinned widely.

"You did? You don't know how happy I am to hear that!"

Her arms tightened around my neck and my hands pressed more firmly over her lower back.

"I can tell," she said lowly, one of her hands sliding down from around my neck and to the waistband of my jeans.

I looked at her in shock for a moment before losing all control. I pressed my lips against hers hard, stepping forward until she was pressed up against the wall of the hallway.

My lips were quick and hungry as they moved from her lips down to her neck. I sucked on the skin there, soliciting a groan from her as her fingers tightened on the waist of my pants. She moaned my name as I pressed my hips against hers more firmly. I knew she could feel the bulge in my jeans when I rested my hands on her ass, lifting her up until she wrapped her legs around my waist.

One of my hands tangled in her hair as the other moved to her shoulder before going lower. I rested my palm over one of her breasts and she gasped against my lips, her fingers starting to fumble with the button on my jeans.

I felt a sense of freedom, knowing that we could do whatever we wanted now without Clary feeling guilty afterwards.

I felt like my her body was fire, heating mine up wherever we touched. Then I broke the kiss, knowing there was one more thing to be concerned about.

"Where's your brother?" Clary's eyes were practically black with lust as she looked at me impatiently.

"He's at Will's house."

That was all the encouragement I needed to continue. I slipped my hands up under her tanktop and she helped me pull it over her head. I took a second to admire her. She was now wearing only her shorts and a black bra.

I lowered my mouth down to her neck and kissed down to her collarbone. She gasped, finally getting my jeans undone.

She slipped her hand down into my boxers and I sucked in a sharp breath when her fingers brushed against me.

"Clary," I moaned, pulling my head back to look at her. "If we don't stop now, I don't think I'll be able to."

She just shook her head, her bright curls falling over her shoulder. "I don't want you to stop."

Then her fingers were tangling in the fabric of my shirt and she was pulling it up. I let her pull it over my head, seeing her toss it to the side as soon as it was off.

She trailed her fingers up and down my chest and I shivered at the contact. I reached around her back to undo her bra clasp, desperate to feel her skin against mine.

Our lips crashed together once again as I slipped the straps down her arms. The bra hit the ground and she shuddered, arching her back towards me. I pressed my chest against hers and the fire grew, making my movements more frantic and heated at the feel of her skin. She moaned, her hips jerking against mine once.

She pushed against my chest and I immediately let her feet hit the ground, looking at her worriedly. She hadn't changed her mind, had she? But she just put her fingers in my belt loops, pulling downwards. I let her push the fabric down before stepping out of them, my fingers flying against her own pants. I looked at her through half lidded eyes, taking in her body in awe as her shorts hit the ground.

She was beautiful and I saw her blush as my eyes rested on her bared chest. I stepped forward again and pulled her into my arms, my lips colliding with hers again as her skin brushed mine. My hands were gripping her hips, pulling her against me tightly. She gasped at the contact, her fingers tightening on my shoulders. I could feel her trembling slightly against me, her breaths coming out short as she dug her fingers into my shoulder blades.

As she ground her hips against mine, making me growl as I pinned her against the wall again, I remembered the kiss in the hallway. I remembered how she'd shuddered with pleasure at the nasty words I'd teased her with.

I stopped moving suddenly and she whimpered as I moved the tiniest bit back, her fingers grasping at my skin. "Jace," she said, her voice pleading.

The sound of my name on her lips almost made me lose control. Instead, I just lowered my lips to her ear. "What do you want?" I asked, letting my lips graze against her jaw. She let out a shaky breath, trying to pull me against her again.

"You know what I want," she said, her breath tickling my neck as I continued to drop feather-light kisses against her neck and jaw.

"Say it," I told her, nipping gently at her collarbone. She shook slightly against me, whimpering and trying to close the distance between us again.

"Jace," she moaned, sounding a bit more angry this time.

"Say it, and I'll do whatever you want," I promised her.

I knew that this was as much for me as it was for her. Her saying the words would drive both of us crazy.

She hesitated before gasping as I skimmed a hand over her breast again teasingly. "Fuck me," she finally moaned, her nails digging into my shoulders.

Before I could follow through on her request, I jerked up in my own bed, a loud pounding coming from my door. I blinked blearily before cursing out loud as the last wisps of the dream slipped away from me.

It was a dream. _Fuck_!

I'd never been so angry to be woken up early. "What?" I yelled, hearing the venom in my own voice.

The door opened and Isabelle poked her head in, raising a brow at me. "Jeez, someone's grouchy this morning," she commented. She stepped in and I was so close to telling her to get lost so I could take care of the little problem the dream had left me with. "I just wanted to make sure you were alive. It's almost twelve, Jace." I scowled at her.

"I was asleep," I snapped. "Who cares what friggin time it is?"

She looked taken aback at my tone. "What the hell is up with you?" She snapped angrily.

"I was in the middle of a dream," I snapped back. "You couldn't have let me sleep in for another ten minutes?"

She frowned at my response before grimacing. "Oh, gross! I did not need to know that!" Then she turned quickly, leaving me alone in my room.

"You asked," I muttered to myself.

After a seriously cold shower, I went down to the kitchen for breakfast- or was it lunch since it was just past noon?

Either way, I had a bowl of cereal at the counter, trying to push the dream away. Hell, if I hadn't had my thoughts stuck on Clary before, I did now.

"Cereal for lunch, Jace? Really?"

I looked up as Alec stepped into the room, rolling my eyes and looking back at the bowl. "Yes. I just woke up, so I wanted cereal."

Alec smirked. "Yeah, Izzy told me why you slept in so late." I punched his arm playfully as I ate another spoonful of lucky charms.

"Not like you've never had a dream like that before," I shot back. "At least mine are about girls."

"Shut up," he muttered. I chuckled.

Then his blue eyes lit up in a mischievous way. I was instantly wary.

"I bet I know who it was about, too," he said tauntingly. I scowled at him.

"Don't go there," I snapped. No way would Alec be teasing me about this for the rest of my life.

"Clary," he said in a sing-song voice. "You can't even stop thinking about her when you're asleep."

I stood up quickly, dumping my bowl on the sink. "Knock it off," I snapped. "It's not like I can control what I dream about."

"Or who," Alec added with a smirk.

I smiled reluctantly, shaking my head.

"You know, I could talk to you about Magnus," I teased. His head snapped to face me and I smirked. "Oh yeah. You know, Clary's really close with him. I bet I could get her to put in a good word for you."

My brother bit his lip, tapping his fingers on the counter thoughtfully. Then he narrowed his eyes at me.

"You're serious, right? You really think she'd do it?" I looked at him in surprise.

I hadn't actually thought he was interested in Magnus. He was just the first guy I had thought of that I knew was one hundred percent gay. And Clary had hinted at something before about Magnus being interested in Alec.

"I-uh, yeah, if you're interested in him. I'm sure she'd love to set you up." Alec blushed but nodded, thanking me before making a quick exit.

Well then.

I was still getting over a bit of my shock when my phone went off. I mean, I knew that Alec was gay but I didn't think he would be interested in someone as...sparkly...as Magnus.

I checked the message on my phone, only for my shock to give way to terror. It was from Clary and when I saw her name I was instantly excited, remembering how the dream had begun. And then I read the actual message.

'Please come over. I'm alone with Seb and I'm scared'-C

I was out the door in record time, shouting out to let Izzy and Alec know where I was going and not waiting for their response.

My heart pounded the whole drive to Clary's house. Questions bounced around in my head crazily. What was going on? What had Clary so afraid that she had texted me for help? Where was Jon? Was I going to walk in to find Clary dead, killed by Sebastian?

Okay, maybe that last one was a little out there but I was panicking. When I finally pulled into her driveway, I almost sprinted to the door, not bothering to knock before flinging it open and bursting into the living room.

Two heads snapped to look at me with two very different reactions. Sebastian was hovering above Clary on the couch and for a moment I thought that they must have resolved things since she texted me as they seemed to be in a fairly compromising position. My gut clenched in jealousy at the thought that surely Sebastian was about to do what I had almost done in my dream.

Then I noticed how Clary's eyes were looking at me in relief and fear. They were shining in the way that had become familiar to me. I moved my eyes from hers to see that her hands were on his chest, but not in an intimate way. It looked as though she had been trying to push him away.

Sebastian sat up angrily, glaring at me with a look that should have terrified me. But instead, it gave me a sense of satisfaction. He didn't like that I was here and he shouldn't. I was here to get his girlfriend away from him.

"Jace," Clary said, her voice shaking slightly. I looked back to her, but before she could say anything else, Sebastian had stood up, looking pissed.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" He hissed venomously. I just raised a brow, seeing Clary shake her head frantically behind him.

She didn't want him to know that she had texted me for help. A lie was spouting off my tongue before I could stop it.

"My sister is having a girl emergency and she needs Clary. She's freaking out." Sebastian continued to scowl.

"Well, she can wait an hour," he snapped. I was most definitely not pleased with how he was acting.

"Seb," I heard Clary say softly, sanding to rest a hand on his arm. "It's okay. I'll be back as soon as I can be, okay? She's my friend, I need to help her." Then, before he could respond, she snatched her phone from the side table and raced towards the door.

I followed her, not looking back at the enraged guy behind us. She rushed to my car, jumping into the passenger seat before I could even get down the porch steps.

I sat down in the driver's seat and looked at her warily. She was shaking slightly and hiding her face behind her hair. "Clary-"

"Just drive. Please," she said, still not looking at me.

I looked at her for another minute before backing out and heading back down the road towards my house.

"Clary, what happened?" I asked finally, when we were halfway there. She hadn't said a single word and my worry was growing by the second.

I couldn't tell if she was crying or not since she still refused to look at me, and I was scared of her silence. With Izzy, silence always meant something was wrong and I was pretty sure it went the same for Clary.

She didn't respond, just shook her head. But I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't see her sitting there, trembling and silent, and not do anything. I pulled over to the side of the road, and I saw Clary tense up.

"What are you doing?" She asked, her voice almost inaudible.

I shut the car off and turned to look at her, reaching out to brush her hair to the side. She flinched away from me and I took in a sharp breath, hurt by her reaction to me.

"Clary, what's wrong?" She shrugged a little.

"It's nothing knew. We just fought again," she said. I knew immediately that she was lying.

"And that's why you texted me saying that you were afraid to be alone with him?" I said doubtfully.

"I shouldn't have texted you. I'm sorry. I overreacted."

I looked at her in disbelief. "Okay. If you just 'overreacted' then why won't you even look at me? What the hell did he do that scared you so much?"

She didn't look at me. "It's nothing. I'm sorry." I shook my head angrily, resisting the urge to punch the wheel.

"It's clearly not nothing, Clary! Would you just look at me? I'm worried about you, and you won't even look at me to let me know you're not crying."

She shifted in her seat and I thought she was finally going to look at me, but she didn't. She just launched herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck and burying her head in my chest. Her breaths were quick and short as I wrapped my arms around her.

I pushed away the thoughts that were trying to compare this to my dream. I didn't want to start acting like I had in my dream right now. She needed comfort, not sex.

Of course, that begged the question of why she needed comfort.

"He got angry last night because I wouldn't have sex with him," Clary finally said, her voice a whisper. I stiffened, not liking where this was headed. "And he left. Then he came back today and he accused me of cheating on him and I told him that he was only acting like that because he knew that he didn't treat me right and he was afraid that you would make me realize that."

"And what did he say about that?" I asked, keeping my voice calm even though there were a hundred different emotions swirling through my head.

"He told me not to talk to him like that. Then...then we made up but I was still mad at him and he thought it'd be a good time to try and make up by having sex. And then you walked in. So, thanks." My arms tightened around her.

"Why didn't you just tell him you didn't want to if you were still mad?"

I felt her shrug. "I didn't want to start a fight." I chuckled at the irony.

"You think me showing up at your house won't cause a fight?" She sighed.

"I know it will. But I didn't want to be alone with him."

There it was again. She didn't want to be alone with him. There was something more than what she had told me, I could tell. Something had seriously spooked Clary for her to risk an argument like the one my appearance was sure to cause.

When she finally pulled away from my arms, she smiled a little at me. "Thank you for coming over like that. I know not everyone would."

My reply was on the tip of my tongue. I was ready to tell her that anyone who knew her would have done the same, that she had pretty much everyone wrapped around her little finger. But I didn't say anything. Because at that moment that she pulled away, I noticed something that had my blood freezing in my veins.

What I had earlier passed off as a blush on her cheeks was now obviously not. Her right cheek had a bright red imprint of a hand on it.

The prick had hit Clary.

**Aaand I leave you with that. I'm sorry, I know that's probably the worst cliffhanger I've ever written. **

**But a LOT happened there. What everyone has been waiting for-Seb hit Clary. Poor girl :(**

**Ooohh and let's not forget about Jace's little dream ;) **

**And the beginnings of Malec, maybe? **

**And there were also some sibling parallels between Jace and Isabelle and Clary and Jon there if you look hard enough :D **

**Okay, so besides all that, I will try very hard to update as soon as possible but I'm not sure if I'll be able to write another chapter before school starts up. I've got three days, so let's cross our fingers and hope! **

**And ugh-my third new school in three years. If I don't update before then, wish me luck! **

**-Cassidy ❤️**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hmmmm...I can't seem to find the line break button...huh...ooh there it is. Okay it's all good now. Gotta hate updating on an iPhone -.- **

**So, I clearly didn't get a chance to update before school started back up. And, since then, I've had soccer games just about every other day and I've been forced to help fix our roof-which is actually kinda fun. Power tools! Aaaanyway, I've been a bit busy so I apologize for the wait-especially after the cliffy I left off on. **

**But oh my freaking angel guys! This story has reached over THREE HUNDRED REVIEWS! I can't thank you guys enough. I mean-holy cow! I never thought it was possible that I could write something that so many people like so much! So thank you :D**

**Here's the next chapter ;)**

* * *

**Jon's pov**

When I made it back to the house, I was careful to do two things. One, was to make sure that Clary's birthday present was hidden carefully inside my jacket. The other, was to make as much noise as possible and to take as long as I could to open the front door. No way was I going to walk in on my sister with her boyfriend after they'd been alone in the house all day without giving any warning.

But when I walked in, I definitely didn't walk into what I had been concerned about. Sitting on the couch was a very alone and very angry Sebastian. I cursed mentally, wishing I had stayed at Will's longer. They were fighting. Again.

"Where's Clary?" I asked, hoping I was overreacting and she was just in the bathroom or something.

Sebastian looked over at me from the TV and I grimaced at the anger in his eyes.

"She took off with that blonde asshole," he snapped, crossing his arms over his chest and looking at me like I was supposed to fix it somehow. I let out a deep breath. She'd gone over to Jace's house then.

Sebastian had been my best friend since we were little, but I was starting to get really tired of his attitude. It's not like it was awful of her to be going to a friend's house.

"Well, there's nothing I can do about that. It's like you expect me to just magically make Clary do whatever you want her to do. But it doesn't work that way, got it? If she took off, maybe you did something to make her. Maybe you didn't, I don't know, I wasn't here. But I do know that Clary doesn't get _this_ pissed _this_ easily." Sebastian opened his mouth, looking particularly argumentative and I glared at him, making him remain quiet. "No. Shut up. My sister has been all kinds of over-emotional this past week because of your fighting. And I'm sick of it. I know she's not just throwing a fit for no reason, so you've clearly done _something_ that pissed her off. Either tell me what it is so I can help you figure out how to make her less upset about it or figure it out yourself. Either way, I'm sick of seeing her like this. If I ever get called out of class again because she fainted after an 'overflow of stressful emotions' I will personally kill every. Single. Thing. That was stressing her out, got it? And if that includes you, well that sucks for you now doesn't it?"

Sebastian looked at me with wide eyes for a minute before standing up angrily. "I'm not the one causing the fights! She does shit like this all the time! She just flips and decides that I did something wrong! Meanwhile, she runs off with someone who she knows I don't like to try and get on my nerves. And then, when it works, she gets pissed at me all over again!" I scoffed, raising a brow at him.

"Is this still about Simon? Jesus, Seb! That happened over six months ago!"

I could remember, clear as day, the first fight that Clary and Sebastian had ever had. It was over Clary's best friend, Simon. Now, he'd been her best friend since she was in kindergarten. They were practically attached at the hip. They did everything together. They had sleepovers almost every night, they watched their nerdy shows together, they joked and teased each other like an old married couple. And he'd been like a little brother to me as well, even though I'd never admit it out loud.

But when Clary got her first boyfriend, things changed a bit. Suddenly the things that came naturally to the two of them brought complications to her and Sebastian's relationship.

Because Simon was a boy and Clary now had a boyfriend, she could no longer spend the night at her best friend's house. She couldn't kiss him on the cheek as a greeting or goodbye. Their whole relationship's dynamic was altered and Simon hadn't been too pleased.

I didn't know the exact details of the final fight that had ended their friendship, but I did know that it was about Sebastian's feelings about the whole deal and it had been bad. Clary had cried for two days, then never spoke to Simon again. Naturally, I didn't have a lot of warm and fuzzy feelings for the kid anymore.

But I was beginning to think that maybe Simon wasn't the only one at fault. Sebastian was clearly the jealous type, although I'd never really seen that as a problem before. But it was suddenly seeming to cause a lot of fights between him and my sister.

"It's not about rat face," Seb finally snapped back. "It's about frikkin' goldilocks who seems to be getting just a little too cozy with my girlfriend! And tell me that you haven't noticed the way she acts around him! It's obvious to me what's going on," he spat. "You're just blinded because you're her brother. You only see the good in her." I scoffed.

"You seriously think my sister is cheating on you? Don't you think I would notice if she was screwing Jace?"

"You don't notice when she and I have sex while you're here! Whose to say you would be any less oblivious if it was her and Jace while you were out of the house?" I gaped at him and he had the decency to look apologetic.

"I fucking told you that I never wanted to hear shit like that. I _will not _listen to you talk about having sex with my little sister as though she's just an object for you to use! Especially not while you're accusing her of cheating on you!"

I was beyond angry. Not only was he talking about things I never wanted to hear, but he was talking about her like she was something he owned. I didn't like it. Nobody talked about Clary like she was nothing but a toy.

"Now either get out of my house or apologize, because if you don't I can't look at you right now." Sebastian looked at me seriously for a moment before walking by me and out the door, slamming it shut behind him. I winced.

It hurt to yell and argue with him. He'd been my best friend since I could remember and the last thing I wanted was for us to fight, but when it came to my sister, he was second on my priorities list.

We'd sworn so long ago, after an argument about a girl in sixth grade, that we'd never let a girl come between us. And we'd stuck to that promise for our whole lives so far. But I could tell that things were starting to change. Especially since the girl starting to come between us-purposefully or not- was my sister

As soon as he came up to me and said that he had kissed Clary things were changing. Clary and Simon weren't the only ones forced to alter their relationship when her and Sebastian's had formed.

As soon as they started dating, Sebastian stopped telling me everything. How could he? He couldn't tell me about the arguments they had, couldn't complain about his girlfriend's little quirks that annoyed him. He knew I would always take her side.

Of course, their relationship also pulled us even closer. We both loved Clary and it was practically like being brothers. But it also put a huge strain on our friendship. Whenever the two of them fought, I was pulled into the middle. I knew that they didn't mean to, but they both talked to me about everything, including fights. So I heard it all, both sides. And it wasn't pleasant.

Lately though, I was starting to realize that I was less and less moved by Sebastian's side. I seemed to always take Clary's side, even if I didn't say it out loud. I couldn't find it in me anymore to put any blame on her for their arguments. Just like I could no longer find it in me to blame her for the fight with Simon.

I dropped down on the couch, thinking back on what had me thinking about Clary's ex-best friend so much today. Isabelle and I had a study hall together fourth period and we had talked all through it on Friday.

I'd told her that I was glad Clary had a friend like her and Isabelle had said that she was glad to have a friend like Clary and I, subtly friend-zoning me. I had laughed it off and told her that I wasn't interested in her that way anyway. Somehow, the conversation had evolved from that and Isabelle had told me that she was interested in a boy named Simon Lewis.

I'd warned her that she might want to be careful how she mentioned that to Clary and told her simply that they used to be friends but weren't anymore. She was now convinced that she needed to bring Clary and Simon back together. I wasn't so sure, after the blowup they'd had before, but I did agree that it'd be nice to see her with him again.

And now, I had even more reason to want them to get back to being the best friends they used to be. Quite honestly, it would piss Sebastian off. And I was totally ready to do that.

**Jace's POV**

When Clary looked away again, not realizing that I had seen the mark on her cheek, I remained silent.

Then I turned to face the wheel again, jerking the shifter into drive and pulling back onto the road.

I couldn't say anything or I knew I would blow up. The bastard had dared to lay a hand on her. This wasn't just Clary being treated on a way that wasn't fair anymore. This was personal, it was abuse.

I was going to kill him. I would kill him and I would tell her brother how he's been treating her and I would let him kill Sebastian with me.

But for now, I was going to make sure that Clary was alright.

"There's concealer in the glove box if you don't want Izzy to be asking questions you don't want to answer."

Clary's head snapped to me, her lips parted in surprise. I looked at her quickly before turning my eyes back to the road. "You've got a nice handprint on your cheek," I informed her, my voice harder than intended.

I saw her quickly tug down on the sun visor and flip the mirror open, examining her cheek. I heard her sigh shakily before reaching to pop open the glove box.

"Do I want to know why you have makeup in your car?" She asked, clearly trying to change the subject.

I let it go for now, although I didn't know how long I could go before I exploded. "Izzy," I replied simply.

She nodded as she pulled out the small circle of plastic and popped it open.

I tried not to watch as she applied the concealer. It ground against my nerves to be helping her hide what Sebastian had done to her, but I could see how shaken up she was-her hand was even trembling as she swiped the sponge over her cheek-and I didn't want my sister crowding her and freaking her out. My parents were out today thankfully, so I didn't have to introduce her to Maryse, who I was sure would do her best to embarrass me and Clary both.

By the time we pulled up to my house, Clary had already put the makeup back and was fidgeting in her seat, tugging on her hair nervously. I raised a brow at her and she frowned back in confusion. I placed my hands over hers, pulling her fingers from her hair. She blushed and dropped her hands to her lap as I shut the car off.

"I'm not meeting your parents, am I?" She suddenly asked, just before I opened my door.

I chuckled at how wide her eyes were. "No. They're out tonight. Away with friends," I assured her. She seemed to relax a little, smiling slightly and swinging her door open.

I watched her carefully as she walked around the car and waited for me by the path that led to the steps. She looked up at the large house and smiled faintly. "Nice house. It's pretty."

I smiled back, looking at it myself. It was large, larger than probably any other houses in this town. There was stone siding and an all-around classy feel to it. It wasn't exactly the type of house I imagined for myself when it came time to move away, but it was pretty amazing, especially with all of Maryse's flowers and plants lining the path and front of the house.

As I led Clary up the stone walkway, I saw her trail her fingers over the petals of some of the early blooming flowers. The side of my lips quirked up in a half smile when I saw the awe on her face as she looked at the plants. So she liked flowers. I would have to keep that in mind. For once, having a landscaper for a mother was going to come in handy.

When we reached the door, Clary was smiling a little, which made me happy. I didn't want her to be upset anymore. I wanted her to completely forget the asshole who thought it was okay to take her for granted. I wanted to see her smiling.

I opened the door and gestured inside politely. She smiled and stepped in, looking around at the entryway.

I rested a hand on her shoulder after a few minutes when she continued to stare at her surroundings. She jumped, spinning to face me. I held my hands up to show that I hadn't meant any harm and she relaxed, smiling sheepishly.

"Sorry," she said quietly. "I'm a little...on edge." I looked at her for a moment then started walking towards the living room.

"Come on, we can hang out in the living room," I said gently.

I felt like I was dealing with a wild animal. I was afraid that she would spook at any second and run. But she didn't. She just followed me to the living room without a word.

I sat down on the couch and rested my feet on the coffee table in front of it. Clary frowned at me disapprovingly as she sat beside me and I just grinned back.

She kicked off her flip flips and pulled her feet up on the couch beside her.

We sat in silence for a few moments, in which I saw her looking at me expectantly but brushed it off, before I flipped the TV on. "What do you want to watch?"

I saw her turn to me slowly, giving me a look as though I was the biggest moron in the universe. I blinked at her in confusion and her brows furrowed. I chuckled slightly when I realized that we had managed to thoroughly confuse each other without using a single word. She smiled reluctantly for a second before biting her lip and looking away.

"I thought you'd want to...talk." I looked at her carefully as I responded.

"I figured that you wouldn't want to."

Her eyes snapped quickly to me and stayed there for a second before flickering away again to look at the floor.

"I don't," she said sharply. I raised a brow.

"Okay. Then...there's no problem here." I saw her hands tighten into fists and bit my lip to conceal a smile.

I was beginning to understand what was going on. She wanted to talk. It surprised me, sure. I'd thought she would ignore what happened, pretend it hadn't. But I should've known better. No matter how different Clary was from Isabelle, she was still a girl. She had emotions like one and she wanted someone to bounce her thoughts off of. But I wanted her to say it, to start this conversation, to acknowledge that Sebastian had crossed a line today.

"Fine," she snapped, turning to look at the blank TV. I had a moment of doubt as I turned it on, flicking it to a random show-something about tattoos.

After a minute, she seemed to snap.

"Do you even care?" She finally shouted, spinning in her seat to look at me. I looked back at her, feeling anger and relief boil up together. "You know what happened but you hadn't said anything about it! You were acting like you cared before but now you're just ignoring me. What happened between yesterday and now that you don't care about me anymore? Or is it...did I..." She trailed off, blinking furiously against the tears that were sure to spill. I immediately felt a rush of guilt and apprehension. I shouldn't have toyed with her her like that. But I knew that if I had pushed, she would've pushed back and pushed me away. "I did deserve it, then," I heard her whisper as she looked down again, a tear slipping down her cheek.

My breath seemed to freeze in my lungs, my heart halting its beating and my blood turning to ice water. My lack of reaction, lack of pushing, had made her think that she deserved to be hit. It made her think that, because I wasn't angry-that she could see at least-then there was nothing to be angry about.

"No," I said, the word rushing out of me in a quick breath. "No, you sure as hell did not deserve what he did to you, Clary." She didn't even look at me.

"I provoked him," she choked out, not seeming to have heard me. "I knew better than to push him like that, to yell. But I did anyway. I shouldn't have. I knew I shouldn't have. It was stupid of me. It's all my fault. I pushed him, I argued, I insulted him, I _cheated_ on him. I deserved what I got."

She looked at me through her lashes, damp with the tears that were making her cheeks glisten, before closing her eyes again. "I'm sorry. I'm not just hurting him by doing this. I'm hurting you too. I'm so sorry. I deserve worse than what he did." I immediately reached for her, dying to comfort her. She flinched as my hand neared her face and I sucked in a breath. She thought I was going to hit her.

I rested a hand on her cheek, ignoring her flinch. I tipped her head back gently so that she was looking at me. Her usually bright and lively eyes were dark and haunted, edged with fear and pain as they met mine.

"I would never lay a hand on you like that," I promised her, looking into her eyes to try and make her realize that I was being honest. She just closed them again, shaking her head slightly.

"That's what he always said," she whispered bitterly.

"Clary." I waited for her to meet my eyes again. "I'm not like Sebastian. He's twisted and cruel and just plain _stupid_. He doesn't realize that he's ruining the best thing he'll ever have. You're kind, loving, beautiful, creative, and you've got this fire about you that keeps you going and strong and independent. And he's afraid of that fire, afraid that it'll burn out of control. So he smothers it."

Her lower lip trembled and I knew that she would be crying fully in a matter of minutes. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her to my chest. She let me, even throwing her slim arms around my waist, her fingers tangling in the back of my shirt. She shook as she cried, quiet sobs racking her body.

I just held her as she cried, one hand holding her tight to me while the other stroked her hair softly.

After a bit, her breaths were even again and her grip had loosened on my shirt. She was no longer shaking and I pressed a kiss to the top of her head. She pulled back slightly and tilted her face up towards me with a sheepish smile.

"I'm sorry. I got your shirt all wet," she apologized. I just smiled at her.

"It's fine. I got to hold you, the shirt is a small sacrifice." She blushed and looked away before leaning up a little, a hand slipping to rest on my cheek.

I looked at her as she smiled. "Thank you. For...for being here. For everything." It was a very vague statement, but I understood what she was trying to say and just nodded.

I looked at her for just another second before leaning down and pressing my lips to hers. She responded eagerly, her hand shifting to tangle in my hair. She pulled me closer and I let her. I was about to put my hand on her shoulder to have her lay back on the couch when I heard heels clacking down the hall.

Clary didn't seem to notice and I began to pull away to warn her when I heard Izzy yelling.

"Jace Lightwood, I swear to god I'm going to kill you! This thing is not staying in my room any longer! It just chewed up a pair of my heels and-"

She cut herself off as Clary jumped, pulling away from me quickly and standing to face Isabelle.

Everything was silent for a minute before I noticed what Isabelle was holding in the air.

"Dammit, Iz," I cursed, rubbing my forehead. "You couldn't have gone one more day? _one_ more? Her birthday is tomorrow! We were literally _one_ _day_ away from the best birthday surprise ever."

Isabelle looked at me guiltily as the squirming puppy leaped from her arms as scrambled across the floor clumsily to race towards Clary. She instantly knelt down, her eyes lighting up. The little white ball of fluff crashed into her and she scooped it up in her arms, grinning widely while her eyes sparkled like I'd never seen them.

"Oh my god, it's so adorable!"

I couldn't help but agree. The thing was frikkin _adorable_. It was probably the second most adorable thing I'd ever seen-the first being the girl currently fawning over it.

She laughed gleefully as the puppy licked her face repetitively. She looked up to me with wide, excited eyes. "Is it really mine?"

Hell, even if the damn thing wasn't hers before, it was as soon as she gave me that look. I nodded as she jumped up ecstatically, jumping to me and throwing her arms around my neck tightly. I wrapped my own around her, laughing myself.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you..." She repeated over and over again. I just grinned, loving how happy I'd made her. I saw Isabelle smirking at me over her shoulder as the puppy jumped against Clary's leg to get her attention back. But I wasn't quite willing to share yet and gently nudged the fur ball away with a bare foot. He took the hint and ran back to Izzy, clearly picking up on Clary's overexcitement.

Before I knew what was happening, she'd pulled from my arms and her lips were on mine.

I responded instinctually before hearing a short gasp.

Clary flung herself away from me, looking at Isabelle in horror. She looked back at me with wide and fearful eyes.

"It's okay," I rushed to comfort her. "It's fine. She already knows, remember?" I gave Iz a sharp look, silently telling her to stop gaping and say something that would calm Clary down.

"Yeah, Clary. I was just surprised that the puppy made you that happy. I pictured you more as a cat person," my sister covered quickly.

Clary still looked a little worried, but I walked over to Izzy and grabbed the puppy from her. When my face was hidden from Clary's view, I glared at Izzy mouthing 'what the fuck' at her still-shocked look. She wiped the look from her face, looking apologetic. I turned to face Clary, smiling.

She grinned once again when she saw the puppy and held her arms out for it. Once it was in her hands again, her smile grew brighter. She looked up at me after a minute.

"What's its name?" She asked. I smiled.

"Whatever you want it to be. But keep in mind that it's a boy. So, unless you want a dog that's very confused about its sexuality in the future, you probably shouldn't go with Princess or Barbie or anything like that," I joked. She chuckled, her gaze flickering between me and the puppy.

I began to question whether this was a very good idea as her eyes settled on the dog. Was I really jealous of the attention she was giving the little monster?

"I really get to pick the name? Where did you get him from? What breed is he?" The questions erupted out of her as she looked at me again. I grinned.

"Yes, he came from the shelter but didn't have a name yet. They said he's a Samoyed." Her eyes were shining as she looked at me.

"This is the best present ever," she said sincerely, her lips turned up in a grin. "I love him." I could almost imagine that the last word was 'you' instead of 'him'. I wished.

I wanted so badly for her to say that to me. I wanted her to _feel_ that way for me. Because I was fairly certain I felt that way for her. It was terrifying to think that she was basically holding my heart in her hand.

Three words and she could make or break it. And she didn't even know it.

But the worst part didn't have anything to do with me. The worst part was that the boy who was holding her own heart was squeezing and squeezing it. It was as though his goal wasn't even to shatter it-no, that implied it could be fixed with enough time, patience, and super glue. It was like he wanted to mangle it until it was unrecognizable as a heart. He wanted to twist it and reshape it into something that could no longer be repaired or functioning.

But hell would be stocking up on bread and milk to prepare for the blizzard before I let that happen.

I looked at Clary as she and Izzy debated over names before her eyes suddenly lit up. She looked at me and smiled so sweetly that I felt as though my heart had completely stopped working.

"CJ," she finally said. I frowned, not understanding what was so special about the name. "Both of our first initials," she explained with a suddenly shy look. "Or is that stupid?"

I shook my head immediately, ignoring Isabelle as she smirked at me knowingly. "No, it's not stupid at all," I said quickly, giving her a small smile. "I love it."

She beamed at me before turning her attention back to the puppy. CJ.

I brushed away any regretful thoughts. Who the hell cared if she turned more of her attention to the dog now? She'd _named_ it after me. Or, a little bit after me. CJ. Clary and Jace. A grin tugged at the corners of my mouth.

Sebastian would be pissed.

The grin disappeared when I realized that Sebastian being pissed might not be as good a thing as I thought. Sure, I wanted to screw with the asshole, but not at Clary's expense. And after what had happened earlier today, I had no doubt in my mind that if he got too pissed he would hit her again. It hurt enough to think about the fact that he'd hit her, I could only imagine how awful I would feel if I had to know that it was because I decided it'd be a good idea to irritate him.

It hit me hard when I realized that this, me taking Clary away from him today, could result in another bruise. I didn't want that. I didn't want her to be in pain because of me.

I decided to bury that thought for now, shoving thoughts of how cute Clary looked with the silly smile on her lips on top of it.

"Aww, you two are just so cute it's disgusting," Izzy said, rolling her eyes. "Seriously, it burns to see my brother all goofy like that, Clary. Please set aside the mushiness for your private time."

I saw Clary blush darkly even through the makeup she'd applied in the car. I chuckled and she scowled playfully at me. "Shut up," she said, although it sounded as though she was choking back laughter.

I just continued to grin at her and eventually she returned it.

After a while of Clary, Izzy and I watching a movie that none of us really paid attention to, Clary's phone started to ring.

I saw her face go blank, her cheeks paling. She reached for the phone and I saw the clear relief on her face when she caught sight of the name lighting up. I frowned as she hit talk then paused, listening to the person on the other line. Izzy paused the movie and Clary bit her lip.

"Yes." My brows furrowed and I leaned closer to try and hear what the other person was saying.

Clary gave me an irritated look and shooed me away, mouthing her brother's name at me. I nodded, letting it go. If it was Jon, then I wasn't too concerned about what they were talking about.

"Yes," Clary repeated, rolling her eyes. I chuckled and she narrowed her eyes at me before focusing on her conversation again.

Izzy looked at me from the recliner, narrowing her eyes.

"Because he was being an idiot!"

I snapped back to look at Clary, seeing her clenching the phone in her fingers.

"More than usual," she sighed, rubbing her forehead. It was fairly obvious to me who they were talking about, but Isabelle looked hopelessly confused. I gave her a pitying look to bug her and she flipped me off, making me laugh.

Clary scowled at me, putting a finger to her lips. In return, I glared at Izzy for making me laugh.

"No. That was Jace," Clary said, sounding so much more exhausted than she had a few minutes ago. "No, Jon."

She paused again and I saw her jaw drop. "Jonathan Christopher Morgenstern! Don't you dare accuse me of lying!"

I looked at her in shock as she yelled.

"Isabelle _is_ here, Jonathan! If you don't believe me, at least believe her!" Then she stood up, storming over to Izzy and handing her the phone. My sister took it hesitantly, looking at Clary as though the phone was going to bite her. "Say hi to Jon," Clary snapped.

I had to bite my lip to contain my laughter as Isabelle slowly raised the phone to her ear, uttering a quiet, almost questioning, 'hello'.

There was a long pause and then Isabelle smirked. "Okay. Bye."

She looked up at Clary as she handed the phone back. "Jon said he's sorry he didn't believe you and he'll make it up to you when you get home-oh, and Seb's not there anymore. He said he kicked him out."

Her lips were twisted in a smile that made me a little upset to see. She wasn't even bothering to hide that she was ecstatic that Clary's relationship was falling apart. Hell, at least I was sympathetic with her! Isabelle was being blatantly obvious about her feelings and I knew that it was unreasonable for me to be angry but I was. In order for their relationship to be crumbling this badly, Clary had been hit. Sebastian had hit her, and Isabelle was _glad. _

I knew I was being unreasonable. For one, Isabelle had no idea what had happened. For two, even if she had known, that wasn't what she was happy about. She was happy because Clary was on the road to getting away from him. But still, my mind couldn't seem to get away from the sharp breath Clary had taken when she saw Izzy's smile, and the way her lower lip trembled for a second when she heard that Jon had kicked Seb out of their house.

But Clary turned to me quickly, throwing up a weak smile. "Do you think you could drive me home? Jon's idea of making it up to me is probably getting takeout for dinner and apologizing all night while watching a Game of Thrones marathon. And I still need to tell him about this little fur ball," she said, bending down to pick CJ up again.

I smiled, although I wasn't completely sure about it. "Okay. You're sure Sebastian isn't still there?" She nodded, looking skeptical and a bit bitter.

"Yeah. Didn't you hear? Jon kicked him out." I frowned but nodded and stood up anyway.

"Okay. Then-"

"Wait, why is it such a big deal if Sebastian is there or not?" Isabelle asked.

Clary's eyes were wide and she looked at me pleadingly. She didn't want Izzy to know.

"Because they're fighting and he's an ass," I said vaguely. My sister looked suspicious but let it go as I started to lead Clary-who was now carrying CJ-towards the door.

Clary and Iz said their goodbyes before I stepped out the front door, Clary following close behind. As soon as we were in the car, I turned to look at Clary, who was distracted and trying to situate the puppy somewhere that he wouldn't freak out.

"Clary," I finally said, trying to get her attention. Her eyes snapped to me and she smiled, waiting for me to say something. For a second, words failed me and I couldn't find a way to say what I wanted. She frowned after a minute.

"Jace?" She asked, looking confused as I continued to look at her. That broke the haze my mind had gotten lost in.

"I don't think I can handle knowing you're going to be near him," I finally spit out. "I can't take knowing that if he shows up at your house tomorrow, you're going to pretend like nothing happened just to keep it from happening again. And your brother is so frikkin oblivious that-"

"Don't bring Jon into this," Clary snapped immediately. "He hasn't done anything wrong."

I almost laughed, just because of the fierce protectiveness in her tone. It reminded me of Jon when he was talking about his sister.

Morgensterns. They were dangerously loyal to the end.

"I know Jon hasn't done anything," I said calmly. Her shoulders relaxed slightly and I had a comparison in mind of a dog's hackles lowering as I released the blame from her brother. "I know that it's not his fault he's oblivious. It's yours for not telling him anything." She looked at me sharply, shaking her head.

"And what do you suggest I do, Jace? Just flounce into the house and tell him that his best friend isn't the person he thought he was? That he's actually an awful human being? That would go over _terrifically_."

I sighed, rubbing my cheek tiredly.

"At least you acknowledge that he's an awful human being," I said with a one-shouldered shrug.

"Jace," Clary hissed in aggravation.

"Clary, I'm just trying to do something that makes me feel a little less helpless in this situation," I said. "I want to help you but I don't know how."

Clary looked down at CJ and frowned slightly.

"Right now, you can help me by just being here for me. I-I think that Seb and I..." She trailed off and I felt as though my heart was pumping faster than it had been before. I needed to hear what she was going to say. I could only hope, as she fidgeted with CJ's collar nervously, that she would finish her sentence the way I wanted her to. "I think we might be...over...soon," she said quietly, her words coming slowly as if she was unsure of what she was saying.

I had to bite my lip until it bled to keep a stupid grin from my face. I just nodded solemnly as she turned to look out the window.

"I know you want to cheer," she said with a quiet chuckle. "Feel free."

I just laughed in response. "I'll keep my cheers to an internal level."

She shook her head, smiling faintly at me as I turned the key in the ignition.

"So," I started after we drove a bit down the road. "Since you got the furball today, tomorrow's going to be slightly disappointing."

She laughed, slapping my arm playfully with the back of her hand. "You got me a _puppy_. I'm not going to be disappointed just because it came a day early, Jace," she said, scratching behind CJ's ears. "If you really feel that you _need_ to give me something tomorrow, then take CJ back to your house tonight and bring him back to mine tomorrow."

She looked a little upset at the idea but I waved it off anyway. "Not necessary. I've still got something to give you tomorrow, I just was going to give it to you using CJ. Now I have to just hand it to you." She looked at me with a mixture of curiosity and excitement.

"You got me something else? Jace, you didn't have to-"

"I know that I didn't have to. I wanted to. And god damn, that was totally cliche." Clary laughed and I grinned.

"You're the king of cliches, Jace," she joked. "Don't worry about it. They don't sound cliche from you."

I looked at her with narrowed eyes as I pulled into her driveway. "Are you just saying that to make me feel better?" She smiled and then did something that surprised me. She reached towards me and pushed a chunk of my hair off my forehead. Her fingertips were soft against my skin and I had the stupid urge to close my eyes.

When she pulled her hand back, she was still smiling but a bit more shyly now, her cheeks rosy. "You're too unique for anything you say to sound overused," she said softly.

I just looked at her for a moment in surprise. Her cheeks flushed even darker and she looked down sheepishly. "Sorry. That was weird and-"

"Clary," I cut her off. "Look at me for a second."

She slowly raised her eyes to mine and I reached a hand to cup her cheek. I pulled her to me gently, pressing a soft, short kiss to her lips. I pulled away and looked at her, smiling. She smiled back, her hand resting on the back of mine.

"It wasn't weird. I promise."

She smirked playfully. "Are you just saying that to make me feel better?" She asked, echoing my words from earlier. I chuckled, shoving her shoulder playfully.

"Go see your brother, Morgenstern. He's probably losing his mind right now," I teased. She laughed lightly, shifting CJ into her arms and pushing the door open.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" She said, her tone questioning.

I nodded with a smile. "Of course."

I knew, of course, what she didn't. I would see her tomorrow-along with all of her friends. Jon had a party planned for her birthday that she was still in the dark about. I could only hope that they didn't argue tonight. That could make for a tense party.

As Clary shut the door behind her, waving to me once before jogging up her front steps, I groaned. No matter what, Clary's party would be tense. Because I was sure her boyfriend was invited.

And I wasn't too sure that I could keep myself from beating him to hell if I saw him go anywhere near Clary.

**sooo, the next chapter is going to be a complete fluff chapter :D well, almost completely. It'll be Clary's birthday and it'll make a lot of people very happy ;D **

**The fluff is also in preparation for what comes after...Duh duh duh...the climax :0**

**Savor the fluff...just savor it. Trust me. **

**-Cassidy ❤️**


End file.
